


Two's company, three's even better

by Getting_gayer



Category: Lopaz - Fandom, Riverdale (TV 2017), Verchoni - Fandom, cheronica - Fandom, choni - Fandom
Genre: Cheryl needs a hug, F/F, Or a lot of them, Soulmate AU, first cheronica, first sentence written on your arm is the first thing your soulmate(s) say directly at you, then verchoni
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-17
Updated: 2019-10-13
Packaged: 2019-11-21 14:51:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 34,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18143639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Getting_gayer/pseuds/Getting_gayer
Summary: The first sentence, or word, your soulmate says directly, and only to you, is written on your arm since birth, but three girls had more than one sentence covering them.Cheryl wanted to strangle one of her soulmates for saying something so lame, and understand what the hell she'd be doing when she met her other one.Veronica dreaded her encounter with her first soulmate, and the other one pissed her off.Toni frowned at her first soulmate, trying to decipher what they meant and what tone they'd talk to her, while feeling comforted by the second sentence.





	1. Expectations and wondering

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic, so be nice please :)  
> A special thanks to my beta reader, aka my girlfriend, cuz she is amazing for helping me out when this isn't her comfort zone. Also, to @fuck-you-i-am-spiderman on tumblr (KittyKarnstein96), the wonderful captain of this ship who is always a sweetheart.  
> This first chapter is really small, I wanted to post something longer, but didn't know where to 'cut' the story, so I decided to post an introduction at least.

Cheryl tossed around on her bed, much like every night, thinking about the damn ink on her skin.  
“’Extracurriculars.’?! What kind of first greeting is that?!” she was outraged by the single word, which provided little to no clue about who her first soulmate might be. “And ‘Uh, I usually do the honors…’ is even worse, first interaction and I’m already stealing something away from them!”. At least she knew who she was going to meet first, which caused somewhat of a comfort. Her family wasn’t fond of the existence of soulmates, because it meant they couldn’t control it, so, of course Cheryl loved it. Even if it scared her, it was something to cling to, something her parents couldn’t take away from her. 

Veronica was scared. She read the first sentence on her arm over and over again. She knew the day was approaching fast, as she was moving to a town called Riverdale, where her mother and father had grown up. To her “Veronica Lodge, I heard whisperings” seemed awfully like a first sentence to a girl whose father had been on the news and moved to a new town. She usually worried more about the second sentence, which was no sentence at all, but only three dots “…”. That meant the first thing the person had said towards you was their name, and Veronica hated it, having no way of knowing who it was, unless the person spoke up. What if she’d said her name as well and they never find each other? Because of that, she never started a conversation with her name, trying always to say something unique instead.

Toni likes to spend time wondering about her soulmates: whether they are boys, girls, one of each or neither. She did think she liked both genders, but who knew. The first sentence was her favorite, because it was the weirdest, and therefore more prawn to be only said by one person. Also, “Not today, Cha-Cha.” seemed like a phrase with wit, a bit of fire behind it, and, because of ‘Cha-Cha’, it meant it was said in a drag race setting, which sometimes happened in the Southside. And guess what? She was the flag girl. At the same time “I don’t think we’ve properly met, …” was somewhat of a friendlier introduction, though Toni often wondered “does this mean we’ve seen each other before meeting? Did we know of each other or even interacted, but never exchanged words? Are they a friend of a friend?”. But that did not mean she didn’t like it, the person was probably very nice, and they would get along quickly.

One thought was shared between the girls: two soulmates? That was incredibly hard to witness, and they knew almost nothing about it. Were they each other’s soulmates as well? Or could their soulmates hate each other? All they knew was that the sentences were in order of meeting, the first one you’d meet was the one with the first sentence. That didn’t help ease the nerves, though.


	2. Knock, knock, bitch! It's the love you didn't ask for

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Veronica and Cheryl meet, things don't go too smoothly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As the first chapter was just crumbs, here's the good stuff, aka the gay stuff.  
> Also, I'm not a native english speaker, I apologize for any mistakes.  
> I'll put the links to all the scenes the vents are based on so you guys can rewatch if you want.  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwYXcg9Qu44  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uy4H6DEjN4  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NumkEE2lTt0  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8G5xVPUOl5E  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmQzPLulsjY  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvrLNp31gkE  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbHvKA01fng  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtVrKablKaU  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0uKQsrqjIk

         So far, Veronica had met an athletic ginger named Archie, his blonde ponytailed friend Betty and her handsomely gay friend Kevin. She had also learned the Queen Bitch’s twin brother was dead, and that said queen bitch had asked the school board not to cancel the back-to-school semiformal, so yay. Up to now, no one had approached her with the words she desperately wanted to hear, but it was only her first day at Riverdale High, and her soulmate might not even go there. Veronica was chill, so chill she anxiously admitted she was expecting more attention. Kevin explained how she would’ve been trending number one, if it wasn’t for Cheryl not letting them forget about Jason and how much she’s suffering for a second. One day, and this girl had already been brought up 3 times, stealing her own thunder nonetheless.

          For some inexplicable reason, she had taken an interest at a different ginger, of a different gender. She knew about Betty’s crush on Archie, but she couldn’t help herself, and missed the look she received from the new friend. And as they started to talk about how the blonde hadn’t spoken to him about the dance, “Riverdale High’s bereaved Red Widow”, as Kevin had put it, arrived at their table. Veronica had half a second to register the figure beside her, before her world stopped turning on its axis, air leaving her lungs as if she had been punched in the gut.

 _“Veronica Lodge, I heard whisperings!”_ There it was. She had known about, seen and heard Cheryl, but not for a second did she consider she could be it, especially when the girl had said Jason was her soulmate – even if that was a bit weird. Her first soulmate. And as she tried to maintain her composure, the redhead continued to introduce herself _“I’m Cheryl Blossom, may I sit?”._ She did sit, making Betty move, and proceeded to fix her hair – not that it wasn’t flawless already - before speaking again. Still internally freaking out – here was not the place or moment to blurt out _“You’re my soulmate!” –_ Veronica didn’t miss the gesture, nor overlooked the beauty of the girl. She managed to get herself under control just in time to avert the ‘Archie’ subject. Instead, she told Cheryl that Weatherbee wanted her to sign up for some extracurriculars. The girl wouldn’t lie and say she didn’t expect and wait for realization to wash over Cheryl’s features as she said her first words to her, and neither that she was a little taken back and confused when, instead, Cheryl went on about how she must try out for cheerleading, seeing as she herself was senior captain of the River Vixens. Ronnie was caught up with another rearranging of red hair, and as Kev and Cher insulted each other, with the girl defending cheerleading, she decided it would be a good idea to bring up her experience at Spence, accepting Cheryl’s invitation.

            The tone in Cher’s voice changed from friendly-excited to fake-friendly when Veronica suggested that Betty should try out as well. Ronnie noticed, and felt her stomach twisting. She knew that game, she had been a master at it. When the redhead told her twitter handle and left, the feeling continued. It got worse as the conversation went on, Betty telling Veronica of what Cheryl did to her. Just when she was trying to change ways, she gets stuck with a self-centered, snobby drama queen. Ah hell, she was soulmates with a white version of herself.

             Trying to stick to her new ways as well as trying to challenge and prove Cheryl wrong, Ronnie boosted Betty’s self-esteem and promised to teach her some moves.

***

              Cheryl left the table with her characteristic sway of hips, smile still plastered on her face, she had liked this Veronica Lodge girl. She was replaying their conversation when a word peeked her interest. The word that was always on her mind, making her sleepless at night. When she glanced down at the writing, shock overtook as she realized it had been Veronica’s first word to her. They had never spoken before, which meant _… “Oh sweet cherry, no! What in this godforsaken town am I going to do? How cliché of me, the new girl!”_ To say Cheryl was not pleased with her finding was an understatement, but she couldn’t pin-point exactly why. Veronica was a beautiful girl, with caramel skin and raven hair, she seemed intelligent and dressed exceptionally well, with those pearls being the perfect touch. 

                Just as she was finishing changing into the Vixens’ uniform – as captain, she was always early – and still trying to figure out why finding Veronica to be her soulmate was so upsetting, the girl walked into the changing room.

 _“I’ve been looking for you!”_ V was a little out of breath.

 _“Yeah, for what? To tell me we have to love and marry each other?”_ Cheryl barked, and there it was. Cher wasn’t pissed because it was Veronica, but because she only now truly understood that, with those sentences on her skin, she had no choice. She barely knew Veronica. No, scratch that, she didn’t know her at all. So how was she supposed to fall in love like that, forcefully?

 _“So we can talk about this. I didn’t even know if you had noticed it was me.”_ V was slowly getting closer to the taller girl.

_“It took me a moment, but yeah, I figured it out. Not happy about it.”_

_“How do you know that you won’t be happy with me? You don’t even know me!”_

_“Exactly, Veronica, all I know is your name and that your father is in prison, and yet, I’m supposed to give my world to you, when I just lost it!”_ Cheryl wanted to cry, and her little bit of anger grew with that feeling, because with it came the desire to wrap herself around the latina’s arm and be comforted. She noticed the irony of the situation and became more desperate, she hated this.

 _“I’m sorry you lost Jason, but I’ve been after my soulmate for a while now, and I really want this. So, if it has to be with you, than be it.”_ Veronica realized and regretted what she had said immediately.

_“What is that supposed to mean?!”_

_“Nothing, I didn’t mean to-“_

_“Tell me now, Veronica, or pray tell, I will make your life a nightmare!”_ Cheryl yelled.

_“This. This is what I meant, you’re a bitch to any and everyone, you turn directly to aggression, and I’m not sure I want to be with someone like that. I was the same and I know nobody wanted to be with me, and now I get why.”_

                  Cheryl was shaking, more with sadness and hurt than anger.

 _“Either get ready for your try-out with stupid Betty, or get the hell out of my locker room.”_ You could feel the intensity of the words. When Veronica started to move, setting her bag down, Cher left, going to wait in her throne-like chair.

                   Beronica did well, though Cheryl would never tell Betty that. It wasn’t amazing, but she figured they only had a couple of hours to come up with the choreography and practice it, so, good it was. She told them she expected more fire, more heat from her Vixens, to see what they’d say. Instead, Veronica announced they had a big finish to show, and proceeded to kiss Betty. On the mouth. Cheryl, who had been boringly pouting nonstop, was pissed at the brunette’s infantility. Kissing someone after finding out who your soulmate is, just to get a rise out of them? Eye roll worthy. Even if it had worked.

 _“Check your sell-by date, ladies, faux lesbian kissing hasn’t been taboo since 1994.”_ Cheryl spoke with boredom, trying to tell Ronnie that her little stunt hadn’t worked. She continued, starting the “interview” portion of their audition. Cheryl wanted Betty to drop her girl-next-door front and attack her, to try and destroy her, tear her to shreds, annihilate her. Maybe to show everyone Betty wasn’t as sweet as she appeared, maybe so she could yell back, maybe it truly was to see fire, or maybe Cher was only looking for a scape goat for her anger and sadness about Veronica and Jason.  What she wasn’t expecting was to receive sympathies from the girl, and she felt her eyes water even more than they were at the beginning of the conversation. She realized she had to say or do something quickly, before her emotions got the better of her. But it was exactly what happened, though in a different way.

 _"Veronica! Welcome to the River Vixens!”_ What the hell was she doing, allowing the girl who hurt her to be one of her girls? _“Betty, better luck next time”_ the redhead finished forcefully. At that, Veronica was filled by rage. B and she had danced in the exact same way, this was only Cheryl’s pettiness talking. Therefore, as soon as Cher tried to give an excuse, saying she needs girls with fire, Veronica went off.

                    _“I know what you need, Cheryl, because I know who you are. You would rather people fear than like you, so you traffic in terror and intimidation. You're rich, so you've never been held accountable, but I'm living proof. That certainty, that entitlement you wear on your head like a crown? It won't last. Eventually, there will be a reckoning. Or maybe that reckoning is now. And maybe, that reckoning is me. Betty and I come as a matching set. You want one, you take us both. You wanted fire? Sorry, Cheryl Bombshell, my specialty's ice.”_ She finished viciously. As for Cheryl, the cheerleader had a bitter face all through the speech, and delivered no come back.

 ***

                     So, Veronica was going to the dance with Archie. And Betty. And Cheryl had no one to go with, but her half-loyal minions. She didn’t know whether to cry about it, swallow her pride and go get her girl, or be mad about it. She ended up doing neither, but rather putting her ‘everything is more than okay’ mask back on, as if everything was indeed fine. She was the de facto queen after all, she had to put a brave face on. She was sure she could do it. That was, until a certain raven-haired beauty entered the doors of the gymnasium. She was breathtaking, with a black strapless dress that accentuated her small waist and perky boobs.

                    All Cher could think about was how Veronica would look so much better linking arms with a different redhead, one that actually was red-ish, rather than bright orange. She watched the trio talk, and suddenly felt a need to get away from everything. She managed to get rid of Ginger and Tina quite easily, which said a lot about their friendship. With that, the Bombshell, lacking her usual fire, retreated to a corner, merely sadly watching her soulmate waltz around the room – because, just like herself, Veronica didn’t simply walk. 

                   Lost in her thoughts, Cheryl missed Josie’s wave from the stage, so the singer had to come over to where Cher was standing. 

                   _“Earth to Cheryl! We need you to introduce us, Bombshell”_ before Cheryl could snap out of it, Josie followed her gaze until it landed on Veronica. 

                   _“Got it bad for the new girl, huh?”_ she added softly.    

                _“Let’s talk later, you got a crowd to cheer on.”_

After announcing the performance by the Pussycats, as it was her job as honorary chairperson and queen, Cheryl went back to watching the trio, now separated: V dancing with Kevin and Betty with Archie. It was then that she noticed some tension between the jock and his neighbor. Apparently Ginger and Tina did too, as they appeared by her side all of a sudden.    

                 _“Should we invite them to the party?”_ Ginger asked, smirking.       

             _“And Veronica too, to spice things up a bit”_ added Tina, excitedly. 

                   _“No, not today girls, I’m not in the mood for chaos”_ Cheryl shut them down calmly with a sigh. _“Matter of fact, no more party. I can’t deal with drunk and stupid teenagers tonight.”_ She finished sharply, walking away.      

              Along with the Pussycats and a few other students and teachers, Cheryl stayed behind after the semiformal was over to clean up a bit, and maybe try to talk to Josie, one of the only real friends she had, about Veronica and their situation.    

                 She was sitting on the bleachers waiting for the black girl to finish packing their instruments, which happened quickly. Josie sat beside Cheryl, and they turned to face each other, Cheryl with her hands on her lap, bending her head looking heartbrokenly to the ground. Josie put her hand over Cher’s.  

                  _“What’s wrong, girl? You’re awfully down. Is it about Jason?”_

 _“No, not this time, Jose. I found my soulmate.”_ She was on the verge of crying.   

                 _“But that’s great! You dreamed of this day, you kept imagining why someone’s first words to you would be freaking ‘extracurriculars’, and now you know!”_ Josie answered eagerly.  

                  _“No. I mean, yes, I found out, but it wasn’t rainbows and unicorns.”_

_“Because you’re into someone else, the new girl, Veronica, right?”_

_“Exactly the opposite. It is her. And she said she doesn’t want to be with someone mean like me.”_ How Cheryl hadn’t started to cry yet was a mystery. 

                _“I’m sorry Cher. I know the true you isn’t mean like Queen Bee you, so, perhaps you should show her that. And besides, if you can’t really work it out, you still have a second soulmate!”_ Josie had a point.

                _“What if we were meant to not happen? If we are supposed to break each other’s hearts and that’s why I have a second tattoo?”_

 _“Well, we don’t have time to ponder, your brunette is here”_ the musician raised an eyebrow and used her head to point behind Cheryl’s shoulder, while simultaneously getting up to leave them alone.        

                _“Hey, Cher”_ Veronica said shyly and waved awkwardly. Cheryl only answered by looking back at the floor. _“I’m sorry, okay? I did mean when I said I’m not comfortable being with someone who only puts others down for her own amusement. But seeing you tonight, I think that’s just a front. A bad way to cope. I saw how sad you looked from across the room, and seeing you now makes me think my theory is right.”_

 _“You’re into monologues, aren’t you?”_ the ends of Cheryl’s lips curved upwards for half a second.

                _“Said the girl who talked for five minutes before I could say a single word back”_ Veronica smiled lightly, meaning she was just teasing. 

                _“But you hurt me, Veronica.”_ She took a deep breath, getting serious. Cheryl didn’t like to talk about her true emotions like that, but she decided to do what Josie suggested _. “And I’m a little fragile now. I went off on Betty because I was resentful.”_   

                _“I shouldn’t have been so nasty to you. I’m willing to meet the girl behind the mask”._

 _“I guess I’m willing to take the mask off. For a little bit. To you.”_ Cheryl added fast, and seeing V’s amused smile, she smiled as well. When she was about to say something else, her phone went off.

                _“Cheryl, for the love of Ellen, come to Sweetwater River! Right now!”_ Kevin was hysterical.      

              _“Stop yelling, you Yard Boy! Why the hell would I go there?”_ Bitch Cheryl was back and Veronica laughed with delight.  

               _“It’s Jason, we found his body”_ he breathed in despair.   

               Cheryl’s eyes widened, her mouth opened with shock, she let her phone fall to the ground. She felt like she couldn’t breathe and started panicking. Her brief panic attack evolved into crying and then sobbing in a matter of seconds, and a yell escaped her mouth, the one stuck in her throat since she said her goodbyes to her brother on that 4th of July. 

               Veronica was alarmed by that, not knowing who or what was said on the phone. However, watching her soulmate that distraught was unbearable, and even if she didn’t know what had happened, there was no way in hell she wouldn’t hold her tight until the sobs ceased.

                After a couple of minutes of Cher wetting her shoulder, and tanned fingers brushing through red hair, the Blossom snapped her head up, looking at Veronica agitatedly.            

               _“We need to get to Sweetwater River, right now”_ she echoed Kevin’s words.

***

               They were on the way, and Cheryl was shrunken in the passenger seat, hugging her knees, not caring she might ruin her beautiful red dress. Veronica was worried, but she knew the best thing for the redhead right now was to get to the river as fast as she could. It was already the dawn of the next day, and as they were getting closer, they spotted a few police cars, as well as her Clifford’s SUV parked.

                They exited the car as fast as they could, and sprinted to the river’s edge, where they found Penelope and Clifford standing at the shore, while the officers were in the water. As Cheryl went to her parents, Veronica called Hermione, who was with Fred, to let her know of her whereabouts. Fred called Archie, who sprinted back to get Betty. With reporter parents, Alice and Hal followed. And just like that, the retrieval of Jason’s body became a show.  

                 When the police pulled the body out the water inside a bag, the Blossoms had to head over to the coroner’s office, where they identified the body with horror. Veronica wanted to text Cheryl, to know how she was doing, but she didn’t have the girl’s number, and didn’t want Betty snooping around her motives for wanting her number. 

                  Monday morning, as the students prepared for their classes, Weatherbee’s voice rang through the speakers. He eased everyone’s mind about the upcoming pep rally, which was happening as planned. Then, he passed the word to Sheriff Keller. Kevin’s dad then proceeded to officially state: _“As of the weekend, Jason's death is now being treated as a homicide. It is an open and ongoing investigation.”_ Cheryl stood straight, looking forward with a big smile plastered on her face, as if everyone could see her and the murder of her brother wasn’t being announced to the whole school. Suddenly, it was Cheryl’s voice in every student’s ears. 

                   _“And may I interject, neither I, nor my parents, will rest until Jason's death is avenged, and his cold-hearted killer is walking the green mile to sit in Old Sparky and fry. I, for one, have my suspicions. #RiverdaleStrong.”_ She spoke like a true popular kid, more worried about what the others thought of her rather than what she was feeling about the new development, even if that wasn’t quite the truth.  

                  While the class was getting ready for biology, Ginger and Tina inquired Cheryl about her claim of Jason drowning, which more than pissed her off.  

                  _“Are you living mannequins suggesting I had something to do with my brother's death?_

_“We're just curious. What do the police think happened?”_

_“I'll tell you what I told them, which is that Jason did fall into the water. We both did. I made it to the shore. He didn't. Maybe he made it to the other side of the river and someone shot him there. Who knows?”_ The conversation was cut off by the teacher’s arrival, to which, weirdly, Archie Andrews asked to be her partner. The redhead had no time to wonder why, as Veronica walked after him.        

                _“No way, golden boy, she’s with me”_ her tone left no space for him to argue _. “I’m sorry, Cheryl, that you have to go through this again. At least with the body there is no wondering.”_ The Latina took her soulmate`s gloved hand.  

                _“There wasn’t supposed to be a body.”_ Cher looked at the ground with tears in her eyes, and the phrase intrigued Veronica _. “But it's only a matter of time before the police figures it out. And my twintuition is telling me it's someone we all know.”_ The girl finished forcefully. 

                 _“Right. Well, I'm not great at science, but I can take point on this, if it's too weird for you.”_ Ronnie offered, motioning to the dead frog in front of them.    

                _“Weird, why? Oh, you mean because my brother is being dissected with a blade, just like this one, possibly at this very moment?_ ” Tina and Ginger were watching them from another table. _“Don't worry, I'm fine. In fact,”_ she looked them in the eye and stabbed the amphibian hard, making the girls jump _“I'm amazing.”_ Ronnie looked worriedly at the scene, but they weren’t able to keep talking, as the teacher started the lecture.

***

                 Later on, at Vixens’ practice, Veronica was at the lead of the dance, showing her moves in the middle of two rows of girls. As much as Cheryl was appreciating that, she had a duty bigger than watching her hot soulmate’s body move. She had to be the captain, and she didn’t get the HBIC title by being soft.  

                 " _Stand down, Vixens.”_ All of them made displeased noises and faces, they knew they were about to get quite the earful. “ _And listen up. The weather's predicting a downpour the night of the rally, but already, you're raining on my parade.”_ She said emphatically. _“With Jason so present in our collective consciousness, all eyes will be on me. Will this beautiful, exotic, hothouse flower drown under the town's scrutiny, or be swamped by her emotions? The answer, ladies, is "no" and "no.””_ As egocentric as that – and Cheryl, as a matter of fact – was, the girl knew how to speak. If it were kind words coming out of her beautiful lips, it would’ve been a great pep talk _. "That said, I need star power.”_ Realization seemed to strike the girl _“I need the Pussycats. Stay loose and limber, ladies, while I make a call.”_ As their captain left, Ronnie went to talk to Betty, she needed to get her up to date with this thing with Cheryl.  

                  _“Hey, B, I need to speak to you”_ she jogged over to where Betty was.

                  _“Yeah, V, what’s up?”_  they sat on the floor.         

                  _“I sorta wanted to see if we could grab a milkshake at Pop’s after the pep rally. I have something really important to tell you._ ” The brunette was hesitant, worrying the blonde.           

                 _“Okay, sure. But why can’t it be now? I’m going to die of nervousness until then!”_

 _“I promise it isn’t anything about you, or us. It’s just that I want privacy and enough time to explain.”_ V eased the girl’s mind. When Betty was about to answer, Cheryl appeared by their side.   

                 _“The Pussycats are in.”_ excitement was an understatement.  

                  _“Seriously? You’re the best, Cher”_ Ronnie answered.  

                  _“That’s great!_ ” Betty agreed.

***

                 At night, everyone was gathered at the football field. Mayor McCoy gave her speech, dedicating the evening to Jason, and Cheryl looked very upset. She then introduced the Pussycats and The River Vixens.  As the first notes to “Candy Girl (Sugar Sugar)” echoed, they started dancing. Cheryl had spent the rest of her afternoon after practice with the band, rehearsing, so she knew the lyrics back and forth. She couldn’t stop thinking about Ronnie, feeling like singing to her.

“Shawty, you're my candy girl

The kind with the swirls

Oh so good, baby out of this world

Look so sweet

Fell in love with your curves

Everytime you speak conversation like syrup” 

                 As the song progressed, Veronica had the same thoughts as the redhead.

                 Though she had never tasted Cheryl’s lips, she knew they would do just that, rock her world. Suddenly, Veronica couldn’t spot the subject of her thoughts anymore. It was then that she heard that sweet voice. Was Cheryl rapping?

 “Say momma won't you do me that favor

I really wanna taste ya, 36, 24, 36 flavors

Been around the globe in a laid back nature

Always on my mind shawty be my life savior 

Sweet little thang, body insane

She's working that thang

Brown sugar be the name 

Candy girl, come get rid of my pain

I think about you all the time

Shawty you should be my dame!”       

                    Veronica couldn’t help but turn around, just in time to hear the last verse and catch Cheryl’s wink. At her. She felt butterflies on her stomach.

                    The coach then announced the Riverdale Bulldogs, and they all cheered. As Archie sprinted towards the field, Ronnie turned to smile at Cher, who had been beaming. Because of that, she accompanied the whole rollercoaster that the girl’s face went through. She stopped clapping, her smile dropped as her gaze followed Archie. A fraction of a second later, she was sprinting away from the field. Veronica didn’t hesitate in following her girl.    

                     She found the taller woman sobbing in the locker room. When Ronnie called out, she quickly wiped the tears and straightened her back, trying to look less broken.

                    _“Cheryl, what is it? What happened?”_ she was trying to not scare the girl, and sat right behind her, wanting to be close but not smother her.

                    _“Jason. He’s gone.”_ Her crying aggravated once more.

                    _“I know. I know he is.”_

 _“No, you don't.”_ Cheryl didn’t mean to sound harsh, but it was too painful right now, no one understood what she was going through, and acted like they did. _“You don't understand. He was supposed to come back.”_ Cher explained, but Veronica mouthed the words back at herself, trying to decipher what that meant. She turned her attention back at the redhead.

                    _“I'm alone.”_ Said Cheryl between sobs. _“I'm alone.”_ That completely broke Veronica. That was the saddest scene she had ever witnessed, and she didn’t know how to make it better.

                    _“You're not alone. It's okay.”_ Ronnie asserted the girl, while rubbing her back. Hearing such words, Cheryl turned around and wrapped the tiny girl in a tight hug. After a while, Cher pulled back, but without stopping the hug. She leaned forward, their foreheads and noses touching. They stayed like that a while longer, before the Blossom spoke.

                    _“It’s okay. I’m okay.”_ Veronica smiled softly _. “We should go, your parents must be worried about you”._

                    _“They are not important right now, Bombshell, you are_ _”_ that made the girl’s heart swell.

                    _“That means a lot, Ronn, but I’ll be fine”_

                    Betty approached the brunette, back at the field.

                    _“Ready to go to Pop’s?”_

                    _“Yeah, let’s go.”_

                    With their milkshakes at hand, the best friends sat at a booth at the Chock’lit Shoppe.

                    “ _So, I saw you with Cher, in the locker room. What’s up with that? I got the comforting part, but for a second I thought you guys were going to kiss”_ Betty had thought the scene was so strange.

                    _“You were spying on us?”_ Veronica wasn`t pleased with the discovery.

                    _“I went after you and her, and I just got there at the end. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pry. I left soon after. I just saw you and froze for a moment. I’m really sorry, V!”_ the blonde was blabbering.

                    _“It`s okay, B. you shouldn’t have done it, but it’s fine. This is what I wanted to talk to you about, anyways.”_ Betty eyed her curiously.

                    _“I heard my phrase. My tattoo. I know who my soulmate is.”_

 _“Wait, wait, are you telling me-”_ she had a puzzled look on her face.

                    _“It’s her. It’s Cheryl. Sappho-blessed Cheryl ‘Bombshell’ Blossom, Riverdale High’s Queen Bitch and redhead extraordinaire.”_ The small woman breathed out all at once. B had a shocked expression on.

                    _“Oh my God”_ was all she said at first, while her friend pursed her lips and nodded. “ _What are you going to do, V? Does she kno- of course she knows, the way you guys were. But have you talked about it? Oh my God, V, you went off on her real hard at the try-outs! Did she do something afterwards?”_ the latina interrupted the girl’s ramblings.

                    _“Betty, breathe! The day of the try-outs I had arrived early, so we could talk. We did, and I let some pretty upsetting things escape. We argued, and that’s why we were both so stressed at the audition. At the dance that day, the both of us kept staring at the other from across the room, so I decided to talk to her afterwards. It was going really fine, until Kevin called her about Jason’s body. I drove her to Sweetwater. You know what happened next. I managed to talk to her in bio class today, though.”_ Betty had been listening intently, while sipping her milkshake.

                    _“But Ronnie, she’s the meanest person I know!”_

 _“It’s all a façade, Betts. I’ve seen how much she’s hurting, and that’s the way she reacts”_ Veronica defended the redhead.

                    _“No way, Ronn. Maybe a bit, yes, but she’s been like this for a while now, not just after Jason.”_ Ponytail wasn`t convinced.

                    _“Are you telling me even tiny Cheryl was a cruel bitch?”_ she inquired. Betty squirmed.

                    _“Well, not exactly. Archie, Jason, Cheryl, Polly and I used to be friends, we played together a lot. But then, little by little, Jase and Cher stopped talking to us. When they became freshmen, we completely severed ties.”_

        _“See? Something must’ve happened. B, Cher has already said something weird about Jason twice. In bio, she said that there wasn’t supposed to have a body, which sorta creeped me out, though I know she couldn`t have done anything like that, and then just now she said he was supposed to come back. Was she expecting him to come back from the dead?”_

                    _“ ‘Ronica, what are you saying?”_ she had an intrigued expression.

                    _“I think Cheryl knows something she hasn’t told yet.”_

 _“Okay, okay, let’s not go all melancholic here. Let’s get back to love. How do you feel about her? Do you get butterflies?”_ they both got giddy.

                    _“Oh, Betty! She’s so pretty!”_ the Cooper giggled.

                    _“Yes, V, I have eyes!”_ She chuckled, and Veronica got serious for a second.

 _“Back off of my girl, girl. But yeah, I’ve caught myself staring once or twice. And when she talks, even if I’m hearing from afar, I know it’ll be exciting. And mean, probably. I just want to run my fingers through that fire of red hair, and I feel this urge to always be touching her. And those outfits surely don’t help.”_ Veronica got this glimmer on her eyes through all of that conversation, and Betty could only smile.

                    “ _The bad girl from New York has it bad! I’m happy for you, V. And I think your ice will be good to Cheryl’s fire. Maybe my childhood friend is still there”_ both girls giggled at each other.

***

                    When Cheryl got back from her breakdown, she was met with the glare of her mom, who grabbed her arm and dragged her to the car without so much as asking if her daughter was okay.

                    When they arrived at Thornhill, Clifford went straight to his room, while Mrs. Blossom pushed her child to the living room, where the fireplace was lit. Cheryl was a bit scared. Penelope stared angrily at her for a moment, before raising her hand and slapping the girl across the face, leaving a red mark on her ivory pale skin. Cheryl widened her eyes with the action and held her hurting cheek.

                    _“How dare you embarrass us in front of the whole school? After singing a song about wanting a girl, nonetheless!  You’re a humiliation of a daughter! A shame for the Blossom name! Your brother would be so disappointed in you, if you hadn’t rowed him to his death, that is. Go to your room immediately.”_ Cher took in the harsh words with her head bowed down, and she did what she was told before her mother got even angrier. She cried all night, not that it was unusual for her. 

                    The next morning, during bio class, Principal Weatherbee, alongside Sheriff Keller, stopped by the classroom’s door. Everyone turned their attention to them. Cheryl stood up from her chair, apprehensively.

                    _“You're here for me, aren't you?”_ she sounded defeated, tired. _“Because of the autopsy?”_ Waldo spoke:

                    _“We don't need to do this in front of your classmates, Cheryl.”_ There wasn’t much sympathy on his voice.

                    _“It's all right, Principal Weatherbee.”_ Cher extended her hands, motioning for Tom to handcuff her. _“They'll find out soon enough.”_

                    _“Now, that won't be necessary.”_ The Sheriff assured her.

                    _“Wait, Cheryl, find out what?”_ It was Veronica, who was sitting by her side and sounded a little concerned, but suspicious as well, as if asking ‘what the fuck did you do?’.

                    _“That I'm guilty.”_ Came Cheryl’s voice, and as the girl was being taken to questioning, Veronica felt her world crash. She was supposed to completely worship a _murderer_?! The prospect of Cher being the killer was too much for Ronnie, who bolted from the classroom, directly to the toilet, where she emptied the contents of her stomach.

                    When Cheryl arrived at Weatherbees’s office, she sat down and quickly clarified her previous statement.

                    _“To clarify, I didn't mean I was guilty of killing Jason. I loved him more than I do myself.”_ That was a much darker truth than the sentence let on _. “But I am guilty of lying about what happened on July 4th.”_ She had an apologetic look.

                    _“The autopsy puts his death about July 11th. When was the last time you saw your brother?”_ The sheriff asked

                    _“It **was** July 4th.”_ She assured him. _“I don't know what happened the week after that, but-”_

                    _“Cheryl, in your own words, what happened at Sweetwater River?”_

 _“The plan was bananas, even for me.”_ As she told the story, she remembered vividly about that morning _. “Jason wanted to leave Riverdale and never come back. He asked for my help to stage a tragic accident, so that our mom and dad wouldn't come after him. Our story would be: we went for an early morning boat ride, and the boat tipped and capsized, and Jason drowned.”_ She sighed. _“In fact, we made it to the other side dry as bones. We said goodbye on the Greendale side of Sweetwater River.”_ At that moment, that day, Cheryl had felt something in her gut, telling it wouldn’t end well, but she had let go of Jason’s hand anyways. She had been carrying that guilt ever since they found the body, and it was greater than ever right now. _“He promised he'd call me as soon as he was in a place where he couldn't be reached or pulled back by our parents. One month, at the most. Every day, I waited for him to call, for an email.”_ Guilt and sadness were overwhelming her tone of voice.

                    _“You tell anyone about the plan? Any way that you can corroborate it?”_ Cheryl looked at the ground, denying. _“And you have no idea why your brother wanted to run away, fake his own death?”_ even if she had reasons to run away and fake her own death herself, the young Blossom shook her head, tears threatening to fall. _“Doesn't that seem cruel?”_ the sheriff finished.

                    _“No, he wasn't- Jason wasn't cruel!”_ emotions were getting the best of her.

                    _“So maybe this is all just a web of lies you're spinning to cover your own tracks.”_ That was the final straw.

                    _“I didn't kill Jason!”_ breathing heavily, she continued. _“There was a gunshot that morning. We heard a gunshot on July 4th. Maybe whoever killed Jason took a shot at him, and missed that morning.”_ The cheerleader was talking fast, trying to explain herself.

                    _“You heard a gunshot, and you're just telling us this now?!”_ Mr. Keller was incredulous.

                    _“I was upset, my brother was murdered!”_

 _“So upset that you sang and danced at a pep rally yesterday.”_ Cheryl looked up, remembering how hard she tried to fake happiness, and how the night actually ended. This man knew nothing about her. As all those thoughts passed by, the door slammed open.

                    _“What the hell is going on here?”_ it was Clifford.

                    _“Mommy.”_ Cher let out a relived breath.

                    _“Don't say another word, Cheryl.”_ Her mother instructed her. Pulling her arm, it was clear they weren’t there to save Cheryl of the attacks, but rather for themselves. _“Get up. Why didn't you call us?”_ they were leaving.

                    _“Because she's a liar, Penelope.”_ Clifford calmly filled in.

                    _“When we get home, you're telling us everything.”_ It was the last sentence, while they dragged their daughter through the halls of Riverdale High. Veronica was leaving the bathroom, after cleaning herself up. She saw the look on Cheryl and her parent’s faces, and it was clear: her lover regretted whatever she did –or didn’t do-, and her parents were emotionless monsters.

 

***

                    “So, are you a suspect now?” Ronnie asked with the whole gang gathered. 

                    “My dad says we all are, including me.” Kevin told them.   

                    _“Not me, girl. I didn't know these people.”_ She was so glad she hadn’t moved to Riverdale sooner. 

                    As Kev suggested a re-binge of ‘Making a Murderer’, Betty replied.       

                    _“Sorry, can't. Gotta stay late to work on the paper.”_ Veronica chimed in as well.

                    _“Count me out, too.”_ She waited a beat and raised her brow. _“I've got a date tonight.”_ She finished with a big, yet, shy, smile. 

                   _“You do? Which Riverdale hottie made the cut?”_ Kevin asked excitedly. Ronnie pressed her lips together trying to hide a smile, and bent her head to the side. Popping her lips, she answered: 

                   _“My soulmate.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed it! You'll have to be patient, bacause it's gonna take a while for Toni to appear, but I'll make the first half of the second season much shorter.  
> Also, I'm still adapting to AO3, which means I'm having a bit of trouble with the editing pre-posting, so yeah, sorry about that.


	3. A date is just a formality

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cheryl and Veronica go on a date! -squeals-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's another chapter! Cheronica go on a date and it's gay and cute.  
> And, no, no Toni yet.

_“My soulmate.”_   She smiled, waiting for everyone’s reaction. Archie just raised his eyebrows in surprise, and mutter an ‘oh wow’, Kevin started a word vomit with ‘ohmygod this is amazing’ – the rest was tuned out - and Betty smiled, yet looked confused. Ronnie dodged the ‘who is it?’ question long enough.

                When the boys left, Betty moved to sit on the couch with her best friend. Last time they talked, it seemed the girls were getting along fine, but weren’t at the date phase yet.

                _“How did this happen, V?”_

                Veronica grabbed her phone and opened her texts with Cheryl from the day prior, a few hours after Cheryl was dragged away from school by her parents.

**Ronnie:** Cheryl, what did you mean you are guilty?? What the hell

 

**Bombshell:** I don’t want to talk about it

 

**Ronnie:** you just basically admitted murder

**Ronnie:** admitted you murdered your brother

**Ronnie:** Your. Twin. Brother.

**Ronnie:** you don’t get to not talk about it with me

 

**Bombshell:** wtf did you seriously think I was saying I am guilty of murdering Jay-Jay?!

**Bombshell:** do you really think that I am a psycho?!

**Bombshell:** I didn’t kill Jason you ghoul!!!!

 

**Ronnie:** you kinda said you were guilty! I’m sorry!

 

**Bombshell:** yes, good, you have ears

**Bombshell:** I am guilty, but of lying about what happened at the river

 

**Ronnie:** oh fuck, you scared the shit out of me “Bombshell”

 

**Bombshell:** you don’t get to start joking, you truly did think I’m capable of killing someone, my brother nonetheless!

**Bombshell:** I can’t believe you thought so low of me!

**Bombshell:** and loose the “”

                                     **-‘Bombshell’ changed her name to ‘Cheryl’-**

**Ronnie:** nooo I didn’t mean it in a mocking way

**Ronnie:** and no, I didn’t think you- NO

**Ronnie:** are you crying?

 

**Cheryl:** no? wtf

 

**Ronnie:** are you dressed?

 

**Cheryl:** you creep

**Cheryl:** yes, I’m always dressed flawlessly, Veronica. Stop insulting me

 

**Ronnie:** are you on house arrest?

 

**Cheryl:** what the fuck with the questioning???

**Cheryl:** no, my parents don’t care about me that much

 

**Ronnie:** great!

**Ronnie:** no, not great that your parents don’t care

**Ronnie:** Pop’s, 10 minutes

 

**Cheryl:** UGH WHY????

 

**Ronnie:** because I told you to

 

**Cheryl:** Lodge, what do you want that can’t be done through text??

**Cheryl:** Veronica?

**Cheryl:** Veronica!

**Cheryl:** ugh

**Cheryl:** fuck you

                Veronica was sitting on a booth at Pop’s waiting for the redhead. She was feeling incredibly guilty about doubting Cheryl’s innocence, but was weirdly excited for her arrival as well. It didn’t take long for the bell at the top of the door to ring, and a tall beauty dressed in a red dress to come through it. She marched to where Veronica was, wearing a resentful expression. Ronnie had smiled upon seeing the girl, which got her a scoff.

                _“Cut it out, you don’t get to smile at me after the assumption you made.”_ Okay, she was angry and hurt, the brunette got the message.

                _“I’m sorry, Cheryl. You made a poor choice of words, and I spiraled.”_

_“You gotta trust me, if we’re doing this”_ she motioned to both of them.

                _“In my defense, I didn’t actually think you had killed your brother”._ That confession earned her a raise of eyebrow from the taller girl. _“I thought maybe something you did caused the boat to capsize, or him to fall into the water. Or maybe you planned to just scare him as payback for something, and it went south. I just panicked, but I couldn’t – can’t – see you as a cold-blooded murderer, I assure you.”_ She looked at the other girl, afraid of what she might encounter.

                _“That… actually makes me feel better.”_ Veronica let out a breath she knew she was holding. _“Sorry I left you with a cliffhanger, I need to keep people guessing.”_ She shrugged, her popular kid side showing a bit.

                _“You said we have to trust each other if we’re gonna do this. So, are we? Gonna do this, I mean”_ Veronica had somewhat of a neutral face, but you could see she was worried about the answer.

                _“I’m petrified with fear, Veronica. I’m really scared about this, because we keep… upsetting each other, it seems. But I felt good with you, when we were talking after the semiformal, and I get happy when I think about you. So, yes, according to me, we should do this.”_ She finished with a confident smile. Veronica broke into an even bigger one herself.

                _“Done. Let’s do this, Cherry.”_ She, then, saw those pale cheeks get reddish and Cher bow her head down sheepishly. She whispered:

                _“Cherry?”_ Cheryl liked that.

                _“Is that okay, that I call you that?”_ Ronnie had gotten a bit worried.

                _“Jason called me that.”_ The brunette couldn’t read her face, and started rambling to fix it.

                _“I’m sorry, babe, if you don’t want me to-”_

_“Babe?”_ the redhead’s tone was still shy, but with a hint of teasing. It was Veronica’s turn to blush, embarrassed. The Blossom started laughing whole-heartedly, and the Latina was stuttering and getting redder by the second. _“It’s okay,”_ Cheryl paused, as if testing the word, _“babe.”_ The tiny girl was calming down a bit, and Cher continued. _“I like you using his nickname for me, but maybe hold on a bit? Let’s see what happens first. I guess all the other pet-names are fine. If they’re not, I’ll tell you.”_ She finished simply. Ronnie was relieved enough to start teasing back.

                _“You’re my pet now?”_ she raised an eyebrow, and Cheryl dipped into her strawberry milkshake, trying to avoid eye contact, but V saw her cheeks get the shade of her drink and smiled to herself. _“Good to know.”_

                After a while of comfortable silence and plenty of giggles, Ronnie spoke.

                _“Okay, so, how about I take you out for dinner, tomorrow night?”_ Cheryl looked up, a little surprised.

                _“As in a romantic meeting?”_

_“Yes, silly, as a date”_

_“I’d love to”_ Cher had a dopey smile on.

                _“It’s a date, then”_ the redhead rolled her eyes to the little pun. She remembered their text convo and got a bit blue.

                _“Why don’t you like ‘Bombshell’?”_ the girl pouted, she loved the self-given nickname, and had gotten sad when Veronica had used it in a mocking way, both in her try-outs and earlier through text.

                _“I like it!”_ Ronnie was quick to assure her. _“I actually love it. It’s so unique and powerful, and so you.”_ She was smiling goofily now.

                _“Then why did you make fun of it?”_ Cheryl was shrinking into herself, her anxiety taking the best of her. The other girl noticed it and sprang into action. She took Cheryl’s hand to get her attention, which had been on the floor up until now.

                _“Hey, I used it in the try-outs to spite you, but I loved the exclusive-ness and intensity of it. And again on the text because I wanted to say it, but, honestly, I felt silly doing it. So, I put the quotation marks. Not because I was making fun of you, but because I was trying to not embarrass myself. I didn’t know if people actually called you that”_ Cheryl was unsure, but decided to drop it and trust the girl. After a few seconds, she spoke again.

                _“So, where are you accompanying me to, tomorrow night? Do you even know somewhere that isn’t Pop’s?”_ the question went from serious and refined to playful and low-key worried.

                _“You’ll have to wait and see, Bombshell.”_ Veronica smiled and grabbed her milkshake. Cheryl did the same and leaned back on her seat.

_-_ Present day-

                _“So, yeah, that’s how I got a date with the hottest girl to ever breathe.”_ She had a proud smile on her face. Betty chuckled at that.

                _“Wow, you guys are intense. You solved, like, 3 matters in one conversation.”_ Betty was impressed.

                _“You can’t expect anything less from Riverdale High’s soon-to-be power couple.”_

_“Agreed. But did Cheryl tell you what really happened with Jason? That’s what she lied about, right?”_ Betty’s tone got more serious, and she lowered her voice.

                _“No, she didn’t say, but I also didn’t ask. I didn’t want to upset her yet again.”_ Ronnie did the same as the blonde. Betty hummed in understanding. _“If this date goes well, I want to be with her in a comfortable place to talk about it, maybe take her to watch a movie at the Pembrooke, I don’t know, something like that.”_ She finished with a shrug.

                _“I think that’s nice, V. If you need help, I’m here.”_ They smiled softly at each other, and the bell signaling the beginning of first period finally rang, and the girls were off to their respective classrooms.

\---

                Cheryl was a bundle of nerves, to say the least. She had no idea where Veronica was taking her, and therefore no idea of what to wear. She got to the conclusion that Ronnie knew what she always wore and wouldn’t do something that required a different kind of outfit without telling her, so she stuck to her normal style.

                Another thing that was bugging her was what to tell her mother, if she bothered to ask. For her own safety, she couldn’t tell the truth, Penelope was a wicked woman, and Cheryl was afraid to see how far she’d go to keep her daughter away from happiness.

                Cher started remembering all the abuse she had gone through, how much she had suffered in the hands of her mother, even with Jason’s protection. Her father was more the kind to give the silent treatment, pretend she didn’t exist at all, which was almost worse, and was what made her so desperate to have all eyes on her. This triggered a rush of fear, and suddenly Cheryl wasn’t thinking rationally nor was she breathing right. She was having a panic attack.

                Her body rocked with sobs, as she fell to the ground, hugging her knees. Remembering Jason wasn’t there to help calm her down only made it worse, and it took almost 40 minutes for her to stop crying.  The girl was ready to text Veronica – she was in no condition to call her – and cancel their date. What kept her from doing so was Jay-Jay’s voice, he once told _her “When you find your person – or persons, in your case – hold on tight to them, Cherry Bomb. Even if you barely know them, or don’t trust them yet, lean onto them. They’re your soulmate for a reason, they won’t let you down.”_ Therefore, she held her head high, a surge of confidence going through her.

                _“I’m Cheryl goddamned Blossom, raised in hell so I could rule it.”_ That was something she had come up with after a boy pissed her off, saying she had to bow down to them because her life was a living hell, so she had no reason to stand tall and mighty.

                She took a deep breath and went to the bathroom to clean herself up. Once done, she chose an outfit and did her make-up, leaving her hair for last.

\---

                At the Pembrooke, Veronica was running up and down the apartment, excitedly telling her mom about the redhead and what they were doing that night. She had told Hermione about Cheryl the day after they found Jason, and the woman was worried at first, but the more her daughter talked each day, the more amused she got. Her mother was leaning against the dining table with a glass of wine, chuckling at Ronnie, who hadn’t stopped talking since she arrived.

                _“Mija, slow down, this is just your first date.”_

_“But mom, we’ve already gone through so much, a date is just a formality. And she’s so hot all the time, even when insulting people, I can’t even. No, scratch that, she’s the hottest when pissed off, even if I don’t like degrading others.”_ Hermione shook her head and chuckled.

                _“Okay, fine, but have you picked your outfit yet, or are you gonna ramble all night and show up with the Vixens’ uniform?”_ Veronica stopped dead on her tracks. Shit, she hadn’t changed yet, but at least she already knew what she was going to wear. She quickly turned on her heels and sprinted to her room.

                Once ready, she texted Cheryl to let her know she was on her way, and said goodbye to her mother, who wished her good luck. The drive to Thornhill was tense, the mansion scared her, and she was already nervous about the date itself. She arrived at the gates, and didn’t know what to do next.

**Ronnie:**  Cher

**Ronnie:** uhm

**Ronnie:** the gates… how do I open the gates?

 

**Cheryl:** shit, sorry

**Cheryl:** just a sec

                Suddenly the metal gates started to open, and Veronica drove inside. The place was so huge she was afraid she would never find the road to the front door. She managed to get it right, and parked right in front of the main door. She stepped out of the car with the intention of ringing the doorbell.

                After getting Veronica’s text, Cheryl went down the stairs and looked warily to where her mother was, sitting at the living room reading a book. The woman looked at her wickedly from the corner of her eyes, and simply said:

                “Just don’t get knocked up.” That stung, but it was better than having a confrontation with the woman.

                Veronica had only taken a single step forward when the door opened, and her beautiful date walked out. Cheryl was wearing a simple black dress, black knee-high boots, a marvelous burgundy leather jacket with one of her spider brooches and a choker, as always. Veronica opened her mouth in astonishment at the sight. It was like the air was knocked out of her chest. The girl’s hair was down, brushed to one side: flawless, like every day, without exception.

                Cheryl stepped out of the mansion to meet the wide eyes of her soulmate, who was frozen in place. The Blossom knew the Latina was the most gorgeous girl ever, but, as she took in the sight before her, she was mesmerized by what she was seeing. Veronica was wearing a navy blue tight dress and heels, never forgetting her beloved pearls. Her hair was down like always, make-up on point, much like her own. After the initial shock, Cheryl smiled, but Veronica was still in the same position, with the same expression. That worried the redhead, who got closer to the other girl.

                _“Veronica, what’s wrong?”_ the girl, then, started to slowly move.

                _“You’re just… so pretty”_ she breathed out. Cheryl blushed and chuckled.

                _“If this”_ she motioned to her _ensemble “makes you short-circuit, wait until you see my favorite dress.”_

_“I really don’t know if I wanna see it, I mean, I do like living.”_ She broke out in a smile, and opened the car door for Cher.

                _“You’re not so bad yourself, Lodge.”_

                Ronnie turned the radio on, and after a while of waiting for her to start talking, Cheryl gave up and was now fidgeting with her hands. The smaller girl gulped, she knew the redhead was anxious, and the silence was making it worse. She sighed and took the girl’s hand on her own. Cheryl moved her gaze from her lap to meet V’s eyes.

                _“Hey, Cher-Bear, relax. There’s no pressure in this, let’s just have a good time, alright?”_ Cheryl looked down again.

                _“There kind of is. It’s expected of soulmates to get along, be incredibly happy.”_

_“Fuck people.”_ Cheryl was taken aback by that. _“They don’t matter, we do. What we do and how we are is our business. But I knew you might feel like this, and that’s why I picked a place outside Riverdale.”_ She gave a reassuring smile. Cheryl turned to look outside her window, and noticed they were in Greendale, the town on the other side of Sweetwater River. _“This way we don’t risk running into anyone.”_ The taller girl got emotional with the thoughtfulness of her soulmate.

                _“Veronica, thank you so much. You have no idea how much this means to me.”_

                After some more minutes the car stopped and Ronnie hurriedly went to the other side to open Cher’s door.

                The restaurant was more like a house, covered in vines, with a wooden door. It was adorned in order to look and feel cozy, but, at the same time, you could see that it was fancy.

                _“Reservation for Lodge.”_ A waiter led them to a corner table and told them to call him when they wished to order. Ronnie asked for a bottle of wine, winking at him, but not in a flirtatious way. _“I was gonna ask you if you preferred red or white, but I know better.”_ Cheryl smirked at that.

                _“My, my, Veronica, even if I did like white better, I need to maintain my aesthetic.”_

                _“Of course. So, Bombshell, how did you end up as captain of the cheerleading squad?”_ Ronnie raised an eyebrow and tilted her head. Cheryl lit up, she absolutely loved her team.

                _“I always enjoyed dancing, it was my way of expressing myself, of channeling my frustrations and dealing with my parents. Mommy tried to shut it down, she hated the loud music. But I used cheerleading as an excuse. I needed to train to make it into the squad, so I could get a scholarship with it. She bought it, therefore, I poured a lot of my energy into it.”_ Veronica barely blinked, realizing Cher could talk about the ceiling and she’d think it was the greatest thing ever. Though, this actually really interested her. _“I killed at the auditions as a freshman, and always got the steps first, because I stayed late practicing. The captain noticed this, and how my moves were slightly better than everyone else’s, and when she graduated, she picked me.”_ Cheryl had a huge smile on her face.

                _“Of course, always perfect at everything”_ Ronnie smiled as well, but the other girl’s expression got somber.

                _“The last thing I am is perfect. My parents always find something I did wrong, it’s never enough.”_ She closed her eyes in pain. _“_ ** _I’m_** _never enough”_ She looked up to try and prevent the tears from escaping. The smaller girl took her hands and looked into her eyes.

                _“_ ** _Never_** _say that. Look at what you achieved: you have the school on the palm of your hands, you have a 4 points GPA, you could be a designer with that sense of fashion, you are one of the most intelligent people I know, and you are gorgeous.”_ She was serious, and Cheryl looked away.

                _“And yet, it’s still not enough. That’s the whole point: I do my best, I pour all my energy into being the best at everything, but it’s insufficient.”_

_“Cheryl, have you ever considered that it’s your parents that are wrong? With a daughter this accomplished, they should be throwing you a party. Even if you weren’t this amazing, they should still cherish your efforts.”_ Cher was thoughtful.

                _“Maybe you’re right, Ronn. I mean, Jason did want to fake his own death to get away from them. Even I feel like doing that sometimes.”_ She shrugged, but Ronnie was shocked enough to forget the nickname in a heartbeat.

                _“What?! Jason did what?”_ Cher realized she hadn’t told the other girl what she lied to the police about.

                _“Oh, so I didn’t tell you, huh? The reason Jay-Jay and I were at the river that day was so we could fake his drowning. For some reason he wanted to run from our parents. He didn’t want to tell me why, so I wouldn’t be in danger. As if I was ever safe, but whatever. We crossed Sweetwater with ease, and said our goodbyes here, in the Greendale side. That was the last time I saw my brother, and he was safe and sound.”_ Veronica was beyond shocked.

_“That is… completely insane. He was just as extra as you are.”_ Cheryl did a half shrug and Veronica tilted her head. _“Cheryl, did anyone else know about this plan of yours?”_

_“That’s the problem, no. Therefore, I can’t prove that it’s true.”_ They both took a deep breath. After some seconds, Veronica asked if she was ready to order, and they called the waiter over.

                _“What do you think we talk about something else? Cats or dogs?”_  Cheryl wasn’t expecting that of all questions, but liked it.

                _“Cats, without a doubt. I love dogs too, but there’s just something about felines that clicks with me. They’re so elegant and composed, though they can be real dorks sometimes.”_ She was smiling. _“What about you?”_

_“Cats all the way. Dogs give you love from the moment you meet them, but with cats you’ve got to earn it, and that makes it much sweeter once you get it.”_ The brunette talked as if she was speaking about a refined wine, which Cheryl adored. _“Wait, is this a lesbian thing?”_ Cher laughed.

                _“Yes, it’s a lesbian thing.”_

_“I do consider myself bisexual, though.”_ Cheryl got puzzled.

                _“Whatever do you mean? I’m your soulmate, and I’m very much a girl.”_ She blinked in confusion, and Ronnie seemed a bit embarrassed.

                _“Uhm, I sorta didn’t want to get into that on our first date, but it’s rather important. I do think that sexual attraction has nothing to do with who your soulmate is, but that is not the only reason I think of myself like that.”_ She paused, and the redhead tilted her head, encouraging her to go on. _“Cheryl, don’t panic, but I have a second soulmate.”_ She closed her eyes and braced herself for a fit of resentment, but was met with nothing. When she opened her eyes, she saw Cheryl with her mouth agape. _“Cheryl? Cheryl, are you okay?”_ The other girl slowly started to come back to her senses, and Ronnie continued to explain, trying to calm her down. _“And I haven’t met them yet, and it could be a boy, and that’s- that’s why I say I’m bi, but you don’t have to worry.”_ Before she could continue, Cher spoke, almost in a whisper.

                _“I have a second soulmate as well.”_ It was Veronica’s time to hang her mouth open. That was the last thing she was expecting to hear.

                _“You do?”_

_“Yes, but I didn’t ever consider they could be a man. I don’t think I could love a boy other than Jay-Jay, though.”_ They were quiet, giving the perfect cue for their food to arrive, which gave them a bit of time to regain their composure.

                _“How- how will this work? We’ll just be dating different people and each other at the same time?”_ The Latina was truly confused.

                _“Or maybe we’re not meant to last.”_ Cheryl was her melancholic self.

                _“Don’t say that. I never heard of soulmates that don’t stay together, we won’t be the first, Cher.”_

_“I don’t want it to be true, but I just don’t want to get my heart broken yet again.”_ Cheryl was getting annoyed at how often she felt like crying.

                _“I’ll do everything in my power to prevent that from happening.”_ For the first time, maybe, Cheryl believed such words.

                _“Can I see it, the other tattoo?”_ Ronnie gulped, but quickly got her left arm from under the table and extended it towards the Blossom. Pale fingers traced the words, first over her own sentence ‘Veronica Lodge, I heard whisperings!’  to which she chuckled and smiled at the memory. Then, her eyes darted down, and landed on the second tattoo: ‘ …’   She stared blankly at it for a few seconds. _“Will they…?”_ Veronica filled in.

                _“Say their name when we first meet? As a first sentence, so I can be unsure if they’re it? Yes.”_ The girl huffed in annoyance. That was the worst.

                _“It’s okay, Ronn. You’ll figure it out.”_

                Cheryl shyly extended her on arm now. She pressed her lips together with nervousness, and Veronica gently held it. She read her own phrase.

                _“Extracurriculars?! Did you seriously spend your whole life waiting for someone to say extracurriculars to you?!”_ Cheryl raised her shoulders and gave a weird smile, as if saying ‘kinda, what was I supposed to do?’ and Ronnie added: _“Oh my God, Cheryl, I’m sorry! I can’t believe this was my first sentence to you, I feel awful.”_ She did feel bad, but was chuckling nonetheless.

                _“First word.”_ Cheryl corrected her. _“And yes, it was pretty crappy imagining why the hades someone would say that to me, but I’m very happy with who it turned out to be.”_

_“ ‘Why the hades’?”_ The Latina had an intrigued expression.

                _“It’s hell’s original name.”_ The redhead defended herself, and after a heartbeat Veronica turned her attention back to the girl’s arm and whispered the words.

                “‘Uh, I usually do the honors…’    _interesting. Seems like it’s a special thing, for you to be doing it, instead of whoever will say this and was the one supposed to do it. Oh God, this is confusing.”_ The girl sighed.

                _“Yup.”_ The taller girl popped the p. _“But let’s not ponder about it no more. There’s no point in dwelling on it, and tonight is about us two.”_

_“Agreed.”_

_“So, my New York imported femme-fatale, what did bring you to boring, peaceful Riverdale?”_  Cher rested her chin on the top of her hands, a hungry smile plastered.

                _“There’s nothing boring or peaceful here. You should know that, your brother was murdered.”_ Why did she always say whatever came to her mind, before thinking? Cheryl looked at the ground for only a second. _“Sorry. It was my mom’s idea, my father and she grew up here. They noticed the absence of my dad and the crazy New York lifestyle was affecting me in a negative way. So, here I am now.”_ She smiled.

                _“I’m glad you came. But why was your father absent?”_ Cher wasn’t sure if it was right to ask, maybe it was a delicate issue, but she wanted to know the other girl’s life as much as possible.

                _“He’s a business man, so he’s always on business trips around the globe. He’s on one right now.”_ She didn’t seem too bothered.

                _“What about your mother, what does she do?”_

_“Just helps him around, takes care of things back in New York.”_ Cher smiled. _“And your parents, what do they do?”_ the redhead dropped the smile, and her voice turned distant and heavy.

                _“Daddy runs a maple syrup factory. Mumsy just enjoys the perks of being rich.”_ She swirled the wine on her cup and then downed all of it. _“And I just stand still, look pretty.”_ Ronnie had already noticed the girl liked to joke about her own suffering, and it was worrying her.

                _“Hey, I was thinking that maybe you could go to the Pembrooke after Vixens’ practice tomorrow, so we could watch a movie and be more relaxed. You know, in a place where we don’t need to sit straight and be fancy the whole time.”_ Veronica raised her eyebrows and gave a closed-lips smile.

                _“That does sound appealing. But, they announced that the Twilight Drive-In back in Riverdale is closing, with a special final screening tomorrow.”_ The smaller girl furrowed her brows and spoke slowly.

                _“And you… want… to go?”_ It seemed like a wild concept, that Cheryl Blossom would want to go at the closing night of a dirty drive-in.

                _“The thing is, wannabe Nancy Drew’s hobo husband works there, and he’s been whining about it the whole week, and it will be worse tomorrow. Which means, Ponytail is going to be there, which means Kevin will be there, and_ ** _you’ll_** _be there. Which means_ ** _I_** _can’t go see you at the Pembrooke.”_ She finished forcefully. Veronica took in all that information and then gave a shy smile.

                _“Which means_ ** _you’ll_** _see me at the drive-in?”_ Cher wasn’t expecting that.

                _“You want me to go? With you?”_

_“Of course.”_

_“But, I mean, like, together?”_ What she meant was ‘you want people to see us together and know about us, or do you want to pretend it’s platonic?’

                _“Cheryl, if you’re not ready or comfortable with us being in public together, we can go there as friends. Or not go at all.”_

_“I want to go and be with you, I’m scared is all.”_

_“It’s gonna be dark, and people will be paying attention to the screen, while confined to their cars. I think it’s a good place to start.”_ Cheryl thought for a moment.

                _“You’re right. I want to go, but that doesn’t mean I’m gonna go soft on other people, I’m still Cheryl Blossom.”_ Veronica smiled.

                _“Sounds good to me.”_

Suddenly the air around them was filled by Veronica’s ringtone, and Cheryl saw it was her mom calling.

                _“Go ahead, take it, it might be important.”_ Ronn smiled and picked up.

                 _“¿Qué pasa, mamá?”_ The second the words, and many more, escaped the tiny girl’s lips, Cher’s brain fried. She hadn’t connected the dots, that if the girl was Latina, she most likely spoke either Portuguese or Spanish, therefore, she was caught off guard.

            And damn, that was sexy. Cheryl felt herself get hot and bothered, and, in consequence, her cheeks got redder than ever. When Veronica ended the call, she got confused with the sight in front of her. Cher was blushing hard, sitting straighter than ever, whole body rigid and looking past Ronnie’s shoulder without moving.

            _“Cher-Bear, are you alright?”_

_“Fine, perfect, just wondering why I didn’t take Spanish instead of French.”_ The other girl raised an eyebrow.

            _“So you could listen to my mom’s call?”_ Cher realized what she was implying, and ran to fix it.

            _“No! Of course not! Just so I would be able to have a conversation with you.”_

_“Well, then I can teach you. I assure you it will be more fun than at school.”_ Cheryl widened her eyes at that and panicked.

            _“Oh god, no! I will not go through the embarrassment of not knowing what I’m doing and then doing everything wrong in front of you!”_ the girl really had a problem with perfection and appearances.

            _“C’mon! Who better to make mistakes with than your girlfriend?”_  Both of them stiffened at that.

            _“We are girlfriends?”_

_“Are we? I mean, I want you to be mine, but I didn’t ask, so-”_ Cheryl didn’t let her finish.

            _“Will you be my girlfriend?”_ She had a hopeful but nervous smile.

            _“Oh, Sappho, yes. Yes, Cheryl, I’d love nothing more than to be your girlfriend.”_ Veronica was never more bothered by the existence of a table than in that moment. With that feeling, she decided she was done with the restaurant.

            _“How about we call it a night, so I can actually be close to my girlfriend for a bit?”_ She put extra emphasis on the label.    

            _“Fine by me.”_ They asked for the check, and both girls reached for their purses.

            _“Ronn, what are you doing?”_

_“What are you doing? I took you here, I’m paying.”_

_“Veronica, I’m rich.”_

_“So am I. And this isn’t about the money, it’s about the gesture. So, put your fancy wallet down, and leave it to me.”_ Cheryl huffed, but did what she was told.

            When they were back in Veronica’s car, they couldn’t stop staring at each other.

            _“You’re so beautiful.”_ Ronnie half-whispered, and Cher gave a tiny smile.

            _“No more beautiful than you.”_ They stayed like that for some seconds, the tension asking for a kiss. Veronica leaned forward just a millimeter, and Cheryl whipped her head around abruptly, but without dropping the smile.

            _“This was lovely. I hope we can do this again, my treat next time.”_

_“I’d love to.”_ She started the car and they were hitting the road, her hand on top of Cheryl’s. _“So, Thornhill or the Pembrooke?”_ She tried.

            _“As much as I wish to be with you longer, I should go home. Mommy might not have said much about this, but I don’t want to push my luck.”_

_“You told your mother about me?”_

_“Heavens, no. I’d probably never be allowed to leave the mansion ever again. As much as I want to, this is for my own safety.”_ Veronica understood, and her heart ached knowing the girl’s reality.

_“Don’t worry, you don’t have to say anything. But I might have mentioned you once or twice to my mom.”_ She gave an embarrassed smile, and Cher gave an amused one.

            _“Talk good, talk bad, but talk about me, amIright?”_

_“I guarantee, it’s all good.”_

When Veronica parked at the entrance of the mansion, she got out of the car as well. She accompanied her girlfriend to the door, and when Cheryl was about to open it, she pulled her arm so they were facing each other again.

            _“Can I kiss you, Bombshell?”_ Cher was shy, and blushed. She had never kissed anyone, and had no idea what to do. Ronnie picked up on that, and tried to make it better. _“Just a peck, real quick.”_

_“O-okay.”_

The smaller girl leaned forward, and touched the girl’s lips in the softest of ways. After a second, she pressed them together a little more. Then, she moved herself away, and looked at the girl.

            Cheryl still had her lips slightly opened, and her eyes shut, so she could feel the kiss a while longer.

            _“That was amazing.”_

_“You never kissed anyone before?”_ The redhead shook her head.

            _“I wanted to save it for my soulmate, because I knew anyone else would be pointless.”_

_“I’m honored, Cher.”_

            They said their goodbyes, and Veronica returned to the Pembrooke.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it! Tell me what you guys thought, what you want to happen, a head-canon you have, anything! :)


	4. She chose me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The drive-in, Kevin is a sweet dramatic boy, the weirdest sleepover ever, a bit of trouble in paradise, tapping trees, viridian dresses and the Blossoms being assholes!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're back with some more! Thank you to all the comments and kudos, it means a lot. I'm trying to write about 1000 words per day, but that's a lot. I also want to try and put a chapter every two weeks, but I doubt that.

The next day, just like Cheryl predicted, Jughead wouldn’t shut up about the Twilight Drive-In. He talked about the town’s bad management, and how it being shut down was killing the American dream.

                Veronica was alone with Kevin in the Student Lounge, and, as he spoke, she remembered what Cher had told her about Betty making them go to the last screening.

                _“It's this quintessential rite of passage, making out with your boy or girlfriend at the movies.”_ That gave Veronica a lot of thoughts.

_“Why don't we go together? I can't promise you any action, but maybe I'll bring you good luck.”_

_“Great! We can bring some blankets and use the back of my dad’s truck, so it’s more comfortable.”_

They were going to keep talking, but Cheryl approached them and put her hand on Veronica’s arm.

_“I just wanted to tell you that I spoke to Mr. Miller and we got the topic we wanted. I’ll text you to plan when we can meet, alright?”_ Ronnie nodded.

                _“Yeah, okay.”_ Cheryl walked past her, sliding her fingers from Veronica’s arm to her other shoulder. Kevin eyed that with suspicion.

                _“Sooo, how’s that soulmate thing going? Tell me everything.”_

_“Keviiinn!”_ She whined.

                _“Stop it, you have a duty to tell me. You can’t just tell me you found them and went on a date and leave it at that.”_

_“Yes, I can.”_ The boy glared at her and she huffed. _“Fine. What do you want to know?”_

_“Who are they? How did you guys meet? How are they like?”_ He shot all questions one after the other rapidly.

                _“Not telling. We met here in Riverdale and they took a moment to realize what happened, that’s all I’m saying.”_ He rolled his eyes, that was basically nothing. _“They are amazing. They have this tough exterior, but on the inside, they’re soft like cotton.”_

_“Tell me, it’s a hot, buff dude?”_ He raised his brows quickly. Ronnie gulped at the thought of Cheryl being a ‘buff dude’, but the boy was right on the hot part. She just rolled her eyes playfully and ended the conversation there.

                _“So, what time are you picking me up?”_

_\---_

                Cheryl finished Vixens’ practice earlier, and Veronica came to talk to her after all the girls left – Betty all but flew through the door to go meet Jughead. When they were alone, Ronnie put her arms around Cheryl’s neck, looking directly at the maple brown eyes.

                _“Are we still on for tonight? I mean, are you gonna come to the drive-in?”_

_“Absolutely. But are you sure about Kevin? I know he’s 100% sure his soulmate is a guy, but we haven’t exactly gotten along very well.”_ Cher put her hands on Ronnie’s waist.

_“Don’t worry, mi amor. We don’t have to act coupley or tell him anything. But if you want, we can.”_ Veronica was so soothing for Cheryl, she felt herself get much lighter and her anxiety decreased, and she smiled.

                They both leaned in and kissed. Cheryl was feeling much more comfortable and confident in the act, as they had shared a couple more kisses throughout the day. When the taller girl arrived that morning, Ronnie managed to push her inside a classroom to greet her, and the girl had asked for a kiss. Then, at study hall, they went to the bathroom together and Ronnie pecked the Blossom’s red lips again. When B&V were heading for the gym, the blonde went back to get something she forgot, and the brunette caught sight of their captain and they went around the school – to avoid prying eyes – hand in hand, meeting each other lips’ once or twice along the way.

                _“Okay, but now I gotta run, I still have to do some homework before this.”_

_“Kay, I have to clean up here anyways. See you soon, cariño.”_ She blew her girlfriend a kiss, and Veronica stopped dead on her tracks.

                _“What was that?”_ She was shocked, amused smile on, and her girlfriend just shrugged.

                _“I may have switched from French. But that one I already knew.”_ She winked, and Veronica chuckled, amazed.

                _“You’re unbelievable. And so extra.”_

_“What’s the point in doing everything low-key?”_ The Latina laughed again and exited the gym.

_\---_

                Veronica was already sitting comfortably by Kevin’s side, and the movie was already rolling. Ronnie was playing it cool, but she was anxious for a fire of red hair to appear. She was constantly checking her phone, and it was pissing off even Betty, who was in the projection booth with Jughead.

 **Betty:** V stop it

 **Betty:** she’s gonna show up

 **Ronnie:** ugh B I thought you were her

 **Ronnie:** what if she got scared and bailed?

 **Betty:** if she said she’s coming, she’s coming

 **Betty:** Cheryl is not the type of person to commit and then not show up

                Back at the car, Veronica huffed. Suddenly her phone vibrated again, and she was about to roll her eyes, thinking it was Betty again, when she saw the name on the screen.

 **Cheryl Bombshell:** I’m on my way

 **Cheryl Bombshell:** sorry I’m late, babe

 **Cheryl Bombshell:** I tried to get Josie to come too but that girl is in a mood recently

 **Ronnie:** it’s okay, I was worried you had bailed on me

 **Cheryl Bombshell:** nay, I would’ve told you

                                     **-‘Ronnie’ has sent you her position-**

After a couple of minutes a red convertible parked right in front of them, and Cheryl stepped out of it.

                _“Make some room, outcasts.”_ Ronnie smiled at the girl, who had warned her wouldn’t go soft just because they were together, and Kevin glared at the figure climbing on his truck. He whispered not so low:

                _“Tell me again why you invited her?”_ Veronica pouted.

_“Because I wanted her here.”_ Cheryl was starting to feel uncomfortable, and was second-guessing her decision to come. Kevin just made a face.

                After a while, they were getting annoyed with the noise the Serpents behind them were making. Kevin had shushed them twice now, and just when Veronica was about to do it herself, Cheryl spoke.

                _“Jason always adored the drive-in.”_ That did it. The Latina got up and spoke directly at the gang.

                _“Hey! You know what happens to a snake when a Louis Vuitton heel steps on it? Shut the hell up, or you'll find out!”_ She had locked eyes with a cute brunette with pink stripes on her hair. She seemed a little uncomfortable with the behavior of her gang mates. Everyone at the place applauded Ronnie, and she did something like a curtsy. Cheryl thought that had been one of the hottest things ever, and Kevin was amazed.

                _“I cannot believe you just threatened a gang-banger.”_

_“I've dealt with worse in the East Village. I just hate when people disrespect my cinematic experience”_ she looked at Cheryl, _“and Jason’s memory.”_ The girls snuggled up together, and Kevin eyed them. Then, Veronica realized they were out of popcorn, and turned to him, handing the bucket.

                _“How about a refill?”_ Cheryl agreed, to his annoyance.

                _“Yeah, Kev, how about a refill? Cherry cola, as always.”_ He angrily grabbed the bucket and left. The girls made themselves better accommodated, and Veronica turned to her girlfriend.

                _“You look dashing tonight. And every other night, but you get it.”_

_“I like you better like this, outside and at night. It’s when I can see the stars competing to look as beautiful as your eyes.”_ Ronnie melted at that, and they locked lips, right there for anyone to see _._ In a matter of seconds Veronica was trying to deepen the kiss, they were almost making-out. When a particularly louder noise came from the film, they detached themselves from each other, panting. Luckily, no one saw them, but Kevin did notice the proximity of the girls once he came back.

                When the movie ended, Kevin opened the passenger door for Veronica, and upon seeing that, Cheryl intervened innocently.

                _“Oh, that won’t be necessary, I’m driving her.”_ Kevin squinted at that. But didn’t say anything.

                When they were on the road, Veronica was all soft smiles to the driver.

                _“It was really good tonight, Cher.”_

_“Indeed it was, Ronn.”_

_“I love how we can do both, dressed up to fancy restaurants and cheap drive-ins.”_ Cheryl hummed in agreement.

                _“Now all that’s left is movies at home in sweats.”_

_“Don’t forget building a fort in pjs.”_

They burst with laughter. They said goodbye with another kiss upon reaching the Pembrooke, and both had a big smile on their faces.

                Such happiness didn’t last long for the redhead, who was coming home to a wicked mother. When the woman noticed her daughter’s cheeriness, she was quick to end it.

                _“What are you so giddy about? Slutting it up on the streets?”_ Cher’s smile disappeared, and she went upstairs with her head down. She entered her brother’s room, which always gave her some kind of solace, as if she was closer to him somehow. She was still grieving for him, and felt like they were linked in death even as they were in life. She decided to use that as inspiration for what she was going to say at Jason’s memorial. She ended up falling asleep after the busy day she had.

                A couple hours later, she was woken up by a nightmare, in which her beloved brother was in a zombie-like state, and had clawed his way out the casket, only to go after her. Gasping, she clutched her throat, to see if it was alright. Then, she noticed her devil of a mother standing in the doorway.

                _“I told you, Cheryl, no more sleeping in Jason's bed.”_ She was calm, but her tone was forceful. Cheryl tried to explain herself.

                _“I… I was working on the eulogy, for Jay-Jay.”_ She was still coming down from the rush of adrenaline the bad dream brought. Her mother seemed a bit tipsy, and her cold tone revealed the reason she was drinking was probably grief and pain.

                _“Don't bother.”_ She entered the room. _“You won't be speaking at his memorial.”_ Cheryl looked incredulous, as well as hurt, and then clenched her jaw and scoffed. Of course her mother would do this to her. _“God knows what you'd say. Something to humiliate us?”_ She took the paper from Cher and looked at it before kneading it. _“No.”_ Cheryl was furious, and sad. She wanted to scream at her mother that she, too, missed Jason. That she, too, was suffering with his death.

\---

    Cheryl had talked to Ronnie about the guest list for the memorial, and told her she managed to convince her mother and squeeze her friends in. She warned the brunette that she was going to deliver the invitations in her bitchy attitude, but she meant no harm, it was just “to maintain [her] aura of superiority and [her] reputation”. When the redhead approached them with _“Sorry to interrupt, Sad Breakfast Club, but I'm here to formally invite you to Jason's memorial at Thornhill this weekend.”_ Veronica barely managed to contain her laughter. While Cheryl spoke, she delivered each invitation. When Ronnie was the only one left, she looked directly into her eyes and handed an envelope, much like the other ones, but hers had a tiny golden cat drawn on the bottom. The Latina smiled, and, again, Kevin took notice of the interaction.

                _“To my surprise and chagrin, mother added you to the guest-list.”_ She looked straight into Jughead’s eyes. _“In case you're tempted to steal our silver candlesticks to pay for whatever trash-can you’re now living in, don't. We'll be searching bags.”_ With that, the redhead turned around and left. Veronica sensed that something was off with her girlfriend, and Betty looked empathetically to Jug.

                _“Hey, try to remember, she is burying her brother.”_ Jughead only huffed.

                While that was going on, Veronica had stood up, and was now jogging after the redhead. She caught up with her inside the school.

                _“Cheryl, wait. That was a bit much, with Jughead.”_ Cheryl shot daggers at her, but her eyes were moist, and the smaller girl understood. _“You're in pain. This is a horrible week for you. I'm sure it's why you're being particularly obnoxious.”_ Her girlfriend did a tiny roll of eyes.

                _“Maybe. What's your point?”_

                _“I wanna be there for you. I want to help you feel better, support you. My heart aches when your does.”_ The last phrase was said in a poetic way, and Cheryl’s heart didn’t ache at that moment, it melted instead.

                _“Okay, Shakespeare. Come to a sleepover at Thornhill, the day before the memorial, aka today.”_ Ronnie must’ve made a face, because Cheryl rolled her eyes at her. _“I don’t want to spend the night before I bury my brother alone.”_ With that, she was gone, leaving a tense Veronica behind. Thornhill was like those haunted mansions in horror movies, they even had their own graveyard. Sure, it was her girlfriend’s house, but she still rather avoid its cold corridors, which would now have a brand new ghost.

                She was still trying to calm herself down when her arm was pulled back with great force. It wasn’t until she was inside an empty classroom that she saw who was dragging her: Kevin.

                _“What the hell are you doing?”_ She was exasperated.

                _“Are you cheating on your soulmate with Cheryl Blossom?”_ They stared at each other for some seconds, before Veronica burst out laughing. _“What? What’s so funny? I saw how you two look at each other, and the little touches and the soft tone of voice!”_ His tone was accusatory. It took a while for the girl to control herself and stop laughing, and Kevin was beyond pissed. She took a deep breath, and looked at the boy. She put her hands on his shoulders.

                _“Kevin, she_ ** _is_** _my soulmate.”_ And she started another fit of laughter with the boy’s face.

                _“Oh.”_

_“Oh Kevin, you sweet, sweet dramatic boy.”_ She was still chuckling, and hugged him on the waist. _“Thank you for worrying, but everything’s alright.”_

_“But you’re such a nice person, and Cheryl… isn’t. How- Why- ugh. I was there when you guys met! You have to tell me everything. And this time, I mean_ ** _everything_** _.”_

_“You better sit, then.”_

_\---_

Back at Thornhill, Penelope and Clifford were showing the room in which the memorial would take place to Sheriff Keller.

                _“We've invited everyone on our list.”_ Penelope told him.

                _“What list is that?”_

_“List of suspects, of course.”_ It was Clifford now. “ _People with grudges against us, many of them members of Riverdale's founding families, I'm sorry to say.  Someone in this town killed Jason.”_

_“You know, that's our thought, too. Since whoever broke into my house knew that I'd be at the drive-in.”_ Tom agreed.

                _“Which means, there's a very real possibility Jason's murderer will soon be in this room.”_ Upon hearing her mother’s words, Cheryl entered the space.

                _“That's why you let me invite the Lodges and everyone else?”_ She scoffed.   _“To investigate them?”_ The idea was eyeroll-worthy. Her parents shared a look. _“And you think_ ** _I'm_** _manipulative and heartless and making this all about myself?”_ It was Penelope’s turn to eyeroll. Cheryl was incredulous with their lack of empathy, of respect for her brother, their very own son.

\---

                Veronica arrived at 7.30, so they could hang out a bit before diner. She walked stiffly through the corridors, and then up the stairs. She felt much better inside Cheryl’s room, which, predictably, was all red. They chatted about the Vixens and such, Veronica told Cher about Kevin and his suspicion, to which they both laughed hard, until it was time to go downstairs.

                They were the firsts to arrive at the table, and Cheryl instructed the Latina to sit by her side. Clifford entered the room next, wheeling Nana Rose, who sat in front of the girls, and gave Ronnie a little smile, that was returned. Penelope came last, and barely acknowledged the addition to their table.

                They were silently eating, Cheryl visibly tense, eating more as an obligation than anything else. Ronnie decided to try and break the silence, maybe her girlfriend would feel more relaxed if there was chatter.

                _“Thank you for having me.”_ Penelope raised her head, and had the biggest smile, yet completely fake, on her lips.

                _“Cheryl invited you. I have no idea why you're here.”_

                _“To support Cheryl, she’s suffering a lot.”_ When she saw her girl stop her movements and shut her eyes tight, she knew she said the wrong thing. Penelope scoffed.

                _“It’s all drama, to get the attention of people who don’t care about her. She’s a shellfish girl.”_ Veronica opened her mouth to defend Cheryl’s feelings, when Clifford cut her.

                _“You’re invalidat-”_

_“Nana Rose, would you like some more ham?”_ Not receiving an answer, he turned coldly to their guest. _“Veronica, would you like some more maple ham?”_

_“I'm good. It's delicious, though.”_ She added quickly. _“You can really… taste the maple.”_

_“You do know that Riverdale was founded on the maple syrup industry?”_ The same flat, bored tone remained.

                _“I didn't, actually. Fascinating.”_ ‘As If ’ she thought. And, she could, too, betray her words with her voice. She had also noticed how Cher hadn’t even made a single sound in the entirety of the conversation, if you could call it that.

                _“That's where Sweetwater River got its name.”_ Penelope rolled her eyes at what her husband was doing. _“Perhaps you should ask your father about it, sometime.”_ Ronnie stopped chewing, panic taking over. _“How is he, by the way? I hope prison hasn’t broken him.”_ Cheryl widened her eyes and looked at her girlfriend, who felt like crying, but stood strong, she knew they weren’t having that conversation right now.

                _“He’s okay.”_ She said softly.

                _“There are worse things than prison.”_ Penelope added, and Cheryl spoke for the first time, in a whisper.

                _“Like this dinner party.”_ She looked at Ronnie with disappointment in her eyes. Penelope yelled, cutting their gaze.

                _“What did you say?”_ Cheryl just stared at her mom, and Veronica tensed like never before. When Cher looked down, her mother hummed in a ‘that’s what I thought’ way, and resumed eating. The girls had looked at each other and had a silent conversation, Cheryl showing her how her life was, and Veronica apologizing for it. Clifford, then, continued the conversation.

                _“It must have been hard for you. Watching your father being handcuffed and dragged out of your home in front of you and your neighbors, all those reporters.”_ You could see he was trying to humiliate her. Penelope seemed like she was having fun with that, and Cheryl looked at her in disbelief of their cruelty. But Veronica Lodge wasn’t an easy girl to step on, and she kept their game.

                “ _The worst part is how fast it happened. He was just… gone.”_ Cher looked at her with understanding. _“I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye. That's why I think it's so great. You're all getting a chance to say goodbye to Jason tomorrow-”_ Cher cut her before she could finish.

                _“Not all of us.”_ Referring to the fact that she was forbidden from talking at the ceremony. Penelope raised her voice slightly, clearly talking to her daughter.

                _“That's because some people already got to say goodbye to Jason. While rowing him across the river, to his death.”_ Cher wanted to cry, but kept a straight face, while her mother got up and left the table. Veronica was staring at the table in incredulity of how harsh the woman was.

                Clifford followed his wife, and took Nana Rose – who wasn’t finished – along. Cher closed her eyes tight, and squeezed Ronn’s hand. She asked if the girl was finished, and they went back to her room. The moment the door was closed, both girls spoke.

                _“What do you mean, prison?”_

_“I was going to tell you”_

With the commotion, they both shut up. Taking a deep breath, Veronica began.

                _“My father_ ** _is_** _a business man. But apparently not a very honest one. I wanted to tell you, I really did, but I don’t know. To me he was always an excellent father, and telling you, or anyone else, that he was arrested would taint that perception I have of him.”_ She was in agony.  Cheryl was still looking at her with a disappointed face.

                _“You lied to me, Veronica. You could’ve said you weren’t ready or didn’t want to talk about it and I would’ve left it alone, but you lied to my face. You looked in my eyes and said he was away at a business trip.”_ She wanted to cry.

                _“I know. I did the wrong choice, obviously. But I regret it, I’m so, so sorry, Cheryl.”_

_“You’re only sorry because you got caught.”_ Ronnie had a bitter face.

                _“I wasn’t going to tell you, like, this week or even the other. But I was going to, soon. I thought it was the safe play, ‘cause you’re my soulmate, and soulmates always get along.”_ She had a pleading tone the whole time.

_“Just because we’re soulmates doesn’t mean everything is always okay and forgiven!”_ Tears were running down the redhead’s face, and then Veronica’s.

                _“How can I make this better?”_ Cher breathed and thought for a minute.

_“Pinky promise you won’t do it again. No matter how bad or ugly, you’ll always tell me the truth, on the spot.”_ It might’ve appeared silly, but pinky promises were the most sacred of agreements. They intertwined their pinkies and squeezed them. _“And tell me about your father.”_

                They sat on Cher’s bed and Veronica began to tell her about her family.

                _“He was always the best. He and my mom. They are like Gomez and Morticia, perfect in their own weird little way. We used to go to Brazil on my school vacations, and we’d spend hours playing in the sea. He always helped me with my homework, and we did everything together. When I got older, he started going away for longer periods, until we barely saw each other, maybe once every three months or so. When we did see each other, we’d spend our time together aggressively playing videogame or just being a family.”_ She had a sad little smile on her face the entire time. _“It was one of those times. We were watching a movie, the three of us cuddled together on the sofa, when they banged on the door, saying it was the police. They broke in, handcuffed him and dragged my father away. In less than 5 minutes everything I knew of him vanished.”_ She was looking down and fumbling with the bed sheets.

                _“I’m sorry, babe. Sorry your father wasn’t exactly what you thought he was. And I understand why you withheld that info, and I forgive you. But you’re on probation.”_

_“Yeah, yeah, I know. I won’t keep anything from you. Just promise me you’ll always receive the news with an open mind.”_ They were holding hands.

                _“Yes, always.” They smiled softly. “But one question: what exactly did your father do?”_

_“He owns some casinos, and opened it to money laundering in exchange for a cut. It was interesting making friends with such powerful people.”_

_“Uhum. Kind of makes sense. Doesn’t excuse it, but there’s logic in it.”_ Veronica just breathed heavily once. _“Ronn, just know that what he did doesn’t erase who he is and all your memories together.”_ The brunette smiled at that, and squeezed Cheryl’s hand.

                _“Thank you, I gotta keep that in mind.”_ They just stared at each other fondly for a while, and then Cher got up and told Ronn to change for bed. The redhead went into her closet to give her girlfriend some privacy. When they returned and sat back on the bed, the Latina spoke. _“Speaking about how parents are, are yours always like that? Or was it just because I was there?”_ Cher pressed her lips together and raised her brows quickly.

                _“It’s sepulchral silence, every night. I’m scared to breathe too loudly.”_ Ronnie raised an eyebrow. _“But every time there’s a guest that I didn’t present a dossier in to why I’m inviting them, mother makes the night especially awful.”_

_“I’m sorry”_

_“Oh. Ronn, it’s not your fault, it’s not personal.”_

_“Your father seemed to know mine quite well.”_

_“Yeah, but they did go to school together.”_ She raised her shoulders for a second, in a half shrug.

                _“You’re right.”_ The Latina sighed.

                _“And also, I think we’re all a bit on edge with everything with Jason.”_ Cher breathed sharply, as if scolding herself for saying that. Something clicked in Veronica’s mind. Cheryl often brought up Jason, but only in a sentence here and there, and people always seemed to get a little tense at that. No one wanted to hear about her dead brother, and that must be killing her from the inside, especially with her parents blaming her for what had happened.

                _“Cheryl, you’re allowed to talk about him. I think you have to, so you can grieve his lost.”_ Her girlfriend looked at her a bit stunned.

                _“I love talking about him, but everyone gets uncomfortable, and I get it.”_ She had sad eyes.

                _“Talk to me. I didn’t know him, and would love to, even if just through your words.”_ Veronica’s smile infected the redhead, who smiled broadly, and got up from the bed. She shuffled through some shelves and got a book. When she got closer to the smaller girl, Ronnie saw that it was a photo album.

                They started shuffling through the pages, with Cheryl telling the stories behind each photo.

                _“This one is from our 10_ _th_ _birthday, he got a super-duper football and gloves, and I got my first bow and arrow set.”_ She smiled broadly.

                _“You’re an archer?!”_ Veronica was in awe, and Cher chuckled at the reaction.

                _“Yes, it’s one of my favorite things.”_

_“You gotta show me!”_ the girl looked like an excited kid on Christmas, and Cher was laughing whole-heartedly.

                _“Okay, okay, calm down, silly. Come here on a Saturday and I’ll show you.”_

_“Yayyy!”_

_“Maybe I’ll put an apple on top of your head and shoot it.”_ Veronica’s eye widened and her smile dropped with panic, and Cher laughed harder. _“I’m kidding! But I totally could do that.”_

_“Of course you could.”_

                They turned the page to find a big picture of Jason, with already 17. It was a school portrait, and Veronica couldn’t help but smile fondly.

                _“I hope this isn't weird, but Jason was crazy handsome.”_ Cheryl also smiled.

                _“The handsomest. Something tells me he would've liked you.”_ After a heartbeat, her smile got sadder, and she looked down.

                _“What are you gonna say tomorrow, in front of all those people?”_

_“Oh, I’m not speaking, mumsy forbid me from doing so.”_ Veronica wasn’t expecting that.

_“Cheryl, you're allowed to say goodbye to your brother. You guys were twins, for god’s sake!” Cher breathed deeply._

_“Everyone is saying he got what he deserved, or that he didn't. When, at the end, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that he was young, and he was murdered.”_ She was almost crying. “ _I just I want everyone to know that I'm sorry. And that Jason deserved a better family than what he got.”_ Veronica quirked her head up, with a somewhat teasing smile.

_“Then do it. Tell them, I'll help you.”_ Cher smiled softly, grateful. “ _And let Penelope and Clifford Blossom do their worst.”_ They were smiling at each other, Ronnie in a proud way.

_“Oh, they will.”_ The brunette thought it was a power phrase, Cheryl owning her right to speak at her brother’s memorial, but the smile faded into fear, and Ronnie noticed the girl was more serious than ever. “ _They'll kill me.”_ As the smaller girl stared in disturbance and fear, Cher gave her a quick, tight lipped tiny smile and went back to the photo album.

                The Latina was still troubled, and thought if she was feeling like that, imagine the girl in front of her, who lived in fear ever since she was born? So, she did something unexpected: she lunged her body forward, wrapping her girlfriend in a tight hug. Cheryl was taken aback, but after a heartbeat hugged back.  Even if Ronnie was smaller, it was the Blossom who rested her head on the other girl’s shoulder.

                After a while just embracing the other, they parted slightly, only to capture each other’s lips with their own.  It was slow at first, but gradually grew into a desperate need. Ronnie pushed the redhead to lay with her back on the bed, never disconnecting their lips. As needy as Veronica was, she knew she had to go easy, Cheryl had never done this, and was in a fragile emotional state. Therefore, she silently asked for consent every time her hand wanted to rest on a different place, and Cher granted her passage with little hums and moans.

                Then, the girl pushed Veronica, so they’d be laying on their sides, still kissing, but slowing down the rhythm.

                _“This feels amazing, Ronn, and I’d love to continue. But I think we should sleep, I’m drained, and tomorrow will be a hard day.”_ The girl kept her eyes shut, and was already snuggling closer to her girlfriend.

                _“Sure, baby. But first,”_ she got up and walked to where Cher’s feet were, _“let’s take these fuzzy heels off, and get_ ** _under_** _the covers.”_ With that done, Veronica instantly realized she would be serving as a human pillow. Not that she was complaining.

Once they were cozy, they said their goodnights and kissed one last time.

At some point during the night, Ronnie was woken up by a hastily moving figure. It took her a total of 3 seconds to understand that it was her girlfriend, shaking with a nightmare. Veronica grabbed the girl’s shoulders and held them down, to steady her, and then proceeded to wake her up. Cher did so with a loud gasp, and she clutched her throat. When she made eye contact with the Latina, she broke in hot tears, and Ronn held her once more.

A few minutes went by before the redhead calmed down. The smaller girl moved red hair away, so she could look at her angel, who now had a red nose and puffy eyes from crying.

 _“Babygirl, wanna try to sleep again? I’ll be here the entire time.”_ Cher nodded, and they nuzzled themselves in one another’s body.

\---

                Cheryl was looking at the mirror, and Veronica appeared behind her, putting a hand on her waist, and the other brushing a strand of red hair. They were both wearing black ensembles, as expected.

 _“You ready?”_ asked the brunette softly. The answer came in the same way.

_“Just about. You go ahead, I'll be down.”_

_“Okay.”_

When her girlfriend left, she looked sadly at the mirror, and touched the strap of her dress while sighing deeply.

                Later, when just about everyone was sitting, Cheryl entered the room, wearing the very same white dress she wore at Sweetwater River that July 4th, when she last saw her brother. All eyes followed her walk through the room, passing her parents, who were horrified, and reaching the podium. She wasn’t smiling per se, but you could see she was proud of herself at that moment. Veronica was incredulous, Cheryl was crazy, if her parents were going to kill her then, now they might just do it in front of everyone. But she also thought the girl was crazy brave and crazy strong.

                _“Oh my God.”_ Was all she said, followed by a very excited Kevin: _“Yes.”_

_“Welcome to Thornhill. Thank you all for coming. If you'll kindly take your seats.”_ She motioned to the empty chairs, and all present sat, including Clifford and Penelope, who was fuming. “ _I'd like to start the memorial with a few words about Jason.”_ Cheryl took her gloves off, and you could see she was trying to keep her nerves at bay. She had confirmed the disregard for what her mother had told her with those last words. Penelope tried to get up, but was held down by her husband, and Veronica looked right at her, and whispered with a bit of disgust.

_“You are only going to make things worse.”_ Angrily, Mrs. Blossom stood on her place as Cher started, tears ready to fall.

_“The last time I saw Jason, I was wearing this dress.”_ Everyone stared at her. _“I know it's impossible,”_ she rolled her eyes playfully at herself _“but I swear, when I put it on, it feels like he's in the room with me.”_ She looked at the picture of Jason standing on the side, and remembered looking at him before they got in the boat. “ _Even though we were twins, I used to demand I have my own birthday party.”_ She was smiling a bit now. _“Until one year, out of the blue, Jason convinced me we had to combine them into one._ _It wasn't until years later, I found out why.”_ The tears were threatening to fall. _“It was because no one wanted to come to mine.”_ One could feel her loneliness. Her parents just watched and sighed at the story. _“And Jason didn't want me to know.”_ Her voice broke. _“He protected me. Every single day.”_ Ronnie shook her head, thinking about the unfairness of it all: the girl’s suffering, the boy’s too-early departure by the hands of someone else. _“I wish, that day at the river, I had protected him.”_ She couldn’t control herself anymore, and sobbed. Then, she turned to the casket. _“I'm so sorry, Jay-Jay. We failed you. All of us.”_ Penelope closed her eyes and tilted her head, the words hitting her. Cheryl was bent over, crying, while Veronica had stood up and walked over. When the redhead noticed a hand on her back, she turned and they hugged, the warmth reminding her of her last hug with Jay-Jay.

                Embarrassed, Penelope took over and redirected the guests to another room. While everyone moved, she harshly grabbed her daughter by the arm and dragged her to a secluded room. Cheryl was crying hard.

_“I had to, it's what Jason would've wanted!”_ She was pleading, and Penelope growling.

_“No, Cheryl. As always, it's what you wanted!”_ She hit Cheryl with no force, and then breathed. “ _I hope you enjoyed yourself. 'Cause after tonight, there will be no more River Vixens.”_ Cheryl had enough tears to overboard Sweetwater. Her mother grabbed her chin, forcing her to stare at her perpetrator. _“And if not for the fact that no one would have you, I'd be shipping you off to a boarding school in Europe tonight.”_ With a furious face, the woman left. You couldn’t see if Cher was more scared or sad.

                Unbeknownst to the pair, Veronica had watched the exchange from afar, and her heart ached. Upon seeing her soulmate break even further, she raced to her side, and, once more, embraced the girl. They just stood there for a while, feeling one another. Then, Veronica moved to kiss Cheryl’s temple, and the girl snuggled closer to her girlfriend.

                _“You, Cheryl Bombshell Blossom, are the bravest girl I know, and it’s an honor to stand by your side as your soulmate. I’m proud of you, mi pequenã cereza.”_ Cheryl smiled, and with the voice hoarse from crying, asked what that mean. _“I called you my little cherry. Is that okay?”_ Remembering how hugging Veronica felt like hugging her brother, she was filled with warmth.

                _“Yes, it’s more than okay.”_ They kissed lovingly.

                _“Do you want me to stay a bit longer?”_

_“There’s no need. I’ve kept you all to myself for almost 24 hours. I’ll be okay, I’m used to this happening.”_ Ronnie gave a sad smile.

                _“Okay, but let me tell you something, make a promise. I’ll do everything in my power for something like this to never be your normal.”_ Cheryl hugged her impossibly tight.

                _“I don’t deserve you.”_

_“That’s what I mean, you do deserve, you deserve the world and some more.”_

They kissed one last time before Ronnie left.

                A whole week went by, the girls got closer and closer at school, to the point in which Cheryl was sitting with the Scooby gang at lunch. Betty just smiled at the girls, while Jughead and Archie were beyond confused, and the beanie-boy often made remarks against the presence of the redhead that escalated to some squabble -those two would never admit this, but the more they fought, the more they grew fond of the other. And Kevin mostly just watched them and shook his head. He still couldn’t wrap his head around them being soulmates, but he did want to become friends with the redhead, because he loved Veronica, and was willing to do that for her, but the opportunity hadn’t come yet.  

                Before the classes started on Friday, Cheryl pulled Veronica to an empty classroom. She had her usual confidence, but Ronnie could see there was something behind it.

 _“Did you know this week's the official start of maple syrup season?”_ She pulled a chair, and sat on the brunette’s lap.

 _“No, I did not know.”_ Ronn had a curious smile, and she sat straighter.

 _“Well, it is. And every year, we host a tree-tapping ceremony, a tradition that honors the Blossom bloodline. Our heritage.”_ The girl explained further.

 _“Sounds cool.”_ Her girlfriend was trying to keep the conversation going. _“It is, beyond.”_

She got even more excited. _“It's also incredibly exclusive. Family and inner circle only.”_ An eyebrow shot up, motioning to Ronnie, who tilted her head. _“Wanna be my date?”_ Veronica’s mouth was opening in awe, but Cheryl didn’t like how long the answer was taking, so she kept talking to see if she could convince her girlfriend, voice full of emotion. _“The maple-tapping's something Jason and I have done together since we could walk. It was our extra-special thing.”_ They stared at each other’s eyes. _“I’m not sure I can face it alone. Would you be there, Ronn?”_ The Latina held her girlfriend’s hands, and smiled fondly.

                _“It would be my pleasure, Bombshell.”_

It turned out that, as Cheryl’s date, she got to skip last period. Cher had given her a lift to Thornhill, and they were currently on the redhead’s room, trying to find something for Ronnie to wear.

                _“Do_ ** _I_** _really have to wear red? It’s_ ** _your_** _color.”_ The brunette whined flexing her knees. As much as she loved trying out clothes, she didn’t understand why her outfit wasn’t appropriate.

                _“It’s the Blossoms’ color. And, because you’re not a redhead, you must have it on your ensemble.”_ She was moving her hangers around, and heard a huff, which made her chuckle.

                Veronica had a flowery skirt and a short sleeved, black turtleneck on. Cheryl was glad that was the outfit her girlfriend chose, as it would be easier to redden her up.  The hostess came out of her closet –literally- holding two pieces of clothing and a big smile.

                _“Which one? You have the privilege of choosing.”_ Her options were red shorts or a short sleeved, red shirt with a white collar. She squinted her eyes, analyzing.

                _“I don’t think I’m in the mood for shorts, so, the blouse.”_

_“Excellent choice, ma Cherie.”_

Veronica had never been one to be shy about her body or changing in public. And, besides, they did it all the time, seeing as they had to change for Vixens’ practice, so, she didn’t think it was a big deal. She took her shirt off and was met with the wide eyes and red cheeks of her girlfriend, who stiffly turned around.

                _“Sorry, babe, I thought this was okay, since we always change in front of each other for practice and all.”_ She saw the redhead’s shoulders rise slightly.

                _“It’s different. I’m concentrated on what we are going to do and the moves and all, I barely pay attention to my surroundings. But here,”_ she was whispering now, _“here I imagine things.”_ Now Ronnie saw the girl’s entire neck –and her face, most likely- turn red at the confession, which mad the Latina smirk.

                _“So, you think things when you see me like this, huh? Interesting.”_ She walked closer to the girl, who was still stiff as a board. She grabbed Cher’s wrist and turned her around so they were facing each other. The cheer captain was mortified, and Veronica chuckled, caressing her cheek, and then pulling her in for a kiss. _“I love to hear that, babe.”_ Another kiss, deeper, this time. She moved to Cher’s jaw. _“I think things too, you know?”_ Ronn felt the girl gulp and her body get warmer. She was pushing the redhead towards the bed, and just by the edge of it, she stopped attacking her jaw to stare at lust filled eyes. _“I think about you, underneath me, just-”_ She pushed her closer to the bed, _“like-”,_ another push, and Cheryl tumbled down on the bed, quickly propping herself up on her elbows, mouth slightly open, _“this.”_ Ronnie got on top of the girl and they started kissing furiously.

                Veronica had her left hand on the mattress, holding herself in place, the right hand on her girlfriend’s waist and a knee between her thighs. Cheryl had one hand on the girl’s hips and one tangled on the mess of black hair.

                The brunette wanted to push her knee only a bit up, to apply just a little pressure to the girl’s core, but, judging from her reaction earlier, she decided against it, as it could be too much and send the hostess spiraling. After some minutes exploring each other’s mouth, Cher broke the moment, telling they had to go, as they risk her mother barging in to drag her away.

                They were walking around the trees that surrounded the Blossom’s property, and Cher was talking about the ceremony.               

_“When Jason died, I thought I'd tapped my last tree. Now, don't be nervous. All you have to do is hold the bucket steady, I'll handle the rest”,_ she talked with confidence and ease.

                Veronica looked around to see a dozen people gathered around, all wearing red in some part of them.

_“Who are all these people?” Cher sighed a bit._

_“Entre nous, they're Daddy's board of trustees. They smell blood in the water. That's why they're here.”_ She sighed deeply this time. _“They're worried Daddy's losing his grip on the company and they're looking for a way to take it away from us.”_ Veronica knew better, but asked anyways.

_“I thought it wasn’t this simple to do that. Can they?”_

_“If they all vote together, they can. When Jason died, it was a PR debacle. And now, here’s me, a girl judged unfit to take on the company. It's no wonder they've descended upon us like some biblical plague.”_ They were now with everyone else, and Clifford was about to start his speech.

_"Nearly 100 years ago, Grandfather Blossom came to this sacred maple grove. The annual tapping ceremony portends each season's bounty. Now, I've performed this ceremony many times in my life. My son Jason, when he came of age, performed it as well.”_ Penelope seemed bothered by the mention of her dead son. _“In his place, I put forth my daughter Cheryl.”_

She took some steps forward, pulling Veronica with her by her hand. Most of the people present squinted at that, Penelope included. Sensing all eyes on them, and Cheryl’s sure anxiety, she whispered:

_“Hey. You can do this in your sleep.”_ Her smile was so big and confident, Cheryl couldn’t help but feel the same way. She swung the hammer and maple started to come out. As people cheered, Cheryl gave a big relieved smile, and Ronnie felt so proud.

                Soon after, they huddled together to take a picture, and Ronnie intertwined their fingers, much to Penelope’s late disgust. On their way back, a couple was trash-talking Cheryl and her family, which angered Ronnie in no time.

_“I don't buy this dog-and-pony show for a second. Cliff can't control his own family, let alone the company.”_

_“Agreed. And if he tries to put Cheryl forward as a successor… Do you remember what she did at the funeral?”_ Cheryl, who was right behind them, listening to every word, looked at the ground and felt like the disappointment her parents always called her. _“Crocodile tears.”_ That boiled Veronica’s blood, she felt like punching them, but decided upon only calling them out on their bullshit.

_“Hey!”_ she called out, to which Cheryl tried to stop her.

_“Ronn, you don't have to.”_

_“No, Cheryl loved Jason!”_ She was outraged. “ _What was she meant to do at his funeral, not cry? They were freaking twins! And yeah, Jason was on the football team, but Cheryl was at every single game, too, doing as much to help the Bulldogs win as he did. She’s the greatest cheerleader Riverdale has ever seen.”_ Cher looked at her girlfriend with awe and gratitude. _“That’s without mentioning she excels at school, with a 4.0 grade point average.”_ The couple looked at each other, and Veronica grabbed Cher’s hand, and finished. _“If there's one thing that I've learned being in Cheryl's class, it's don't underestimate her and don't bet against her. You’ll lose every single time.”_ That confidence made the cheer captain smile broadly. Ronn scoffed at the two redheads in front of them and they walked past them with a strut.

                Later on, Clifford Blossom pulled Veronica to a corner, and began speaking calmly.

_“Veronica, do you know, when Cheryl told me that she wanted you to come with us, I was a little taken aback. Your father and I have never really seen eye-to-eye, even as teenagers, and I thought she’d invite a boy, like that Archibald.”_ Ronn was a little nervous, but she plastered a small smile and spoke with confidence.

_“I came for Cheryl, Mr. Blossom. She chose me, and I’m incredibly honored that she trusts me this much.”_

_“Yes, she cares deeply about you. Now, later this week, we're hosting a banquet for the board at the Belmont Lodge. It's a simple thing, a little dinner, chit-chat, dancing. We would love you to attend as Cheryl's escort, you two make quite the pair.”_ Upon seeing the girl quickly turn to eye Mrs. Blossom, he added, _“And don’t worry about Penelope, she’ll see that it’s important to present a united, strong front, no matter with who it is.”_

_“Oh, I'm honored, Mr. Blossom, that you think I’m worthy of standing with Cheryl.”_ Said girl approached them.

_“Seeing that daddy wants you there as well, you have to come. I'm wearing viridian, just so you know.”_ Veronica seemed excited, but also a little tense. _“Plus, I need a dance partner, and I know for a fact you are one of the best dancers in Riverdale.”_ The brunette still said nothing, shy smile still there, and Clifford left no space for a debate.

                _“It’s settled then, Cher will let you know of the details.”_ With that, he turned around and was gone.

                Cheryl took both of Ronnie’s hands on hers, and started swinging them, with a smile on her face. Veronica smiled back.

                _“Hey, we’re gonna be together out in public, with daddy’s blessing. I’m eager.”_ Ronnie looked at the ground.

                _“Are you sure it’s a good idea? Your mom is definitely not fond of me, and I don’t want her to be angry at you.”_ She was pouting.

                _“Aww, look at you, worried about me. But don’t, if dad said he’ll take care of mother, she’ll be at bay. And, besides, mother is always angry at me.”_ Veronica smiled, and they started walking hand in hand.

                _“I always worry about you, Cher. And I’ll try to be as nice as I can with your mother.”_

_“Oh, don’t bother, that’s a dragon no one can tame.”_ Cheryl waved her hand in dismissal. Ronnie had an alarmed face.

                _“But your dad said-”_

_“He can keep her behaved for a while, in public.”_ The girl explained, and her girlfriend was relieved.  

                They spent the rest of the afternoon talking, cuddling, laughing, kissing, and just being.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't kill me, I know Toni is supposed to be in this too! Just to explain, I always had a headcanon that Cher and Ronnie already had a strog relationship before Toni came around, so I had to write the entire season 1 without her. I'm strugling a bit with shortening the events before the race, but yeah, I'm trying my best :)


	5. She's the girl I'm in love with

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hiram sucks, Hermione is sweet, Jug has a burning question, Archie is oblivious, the Blossoms suck more than Hiram, and Cheryl's body is a masterpiece.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shorter chapter, because I haven't posted in a long while, but I haven't written a lot as well, so yeah. Toni is a few hundred words away from appearing, rather than just being mentioned.

The next day, Ronnie was talking to Betty on the opposite side of the corridor, while Cheryl fixed her make-up –as if it needed fixing. Suddenly, Kevin stopped by them and dropped the news: Veronica had spent the day cheering Ethel up a while ago in fear that the girl might be suicidal, but it had been her father who had tried to kill himself. Ronnie felt sick and dizzy, and marched to the locker room. Cheryl had watched the scene unfold in the corner of her eyes, and sprinted to follow her beloved.

Cheryl walked in just in time to see the Latina rip off her necklace, the pearls flying everywhere as the girl fell to her knees, sobbing. Cher knew it had been her father who gave her the jewelry, and the act was Ronnie denying him, for all the people he wronged and hurt, he didn’t deserve her love. The redhead ran to hold her, as Betty came in as well. They hugged her tight, telling her they weren’t leaving her, and she had them to lean on.

At noon, the girls accompanied Veronica to the hospital, she wanted to come clean to Ethel. After handing the girl the flowers, she told them her full name, and Mrs. Muggs connected the dots. 

_ “ _ _ My father is-” _

_ “Hiram Lodge. And you're showing your face here?”  _ Ethel didn’t know what her mother was talking about.

_ “Mom, she's my friend.” _

_ “She's not your friend, honey. Her father is a criminal.”  _ At each sentence Veronica broke further, and both Cheryl and Betty held tight to her arm, telling her they were there for her.  _ “He's the reason Dad did this to himself.”  _ Ethel was incredulous.

_ “Ronnie? Is that true?”  _ The latina was hoping that question wouldn’t be asked, and she answered with a sob.

_ “Yes. And I am so sorry. I wish I could do something.”  _ It was the truth, Ronnie had been feeling awful about her father’s doings for quite some time.

_ "Sorry isn't good enough. You want to do something? Tell the truth.”  _ Mrs. Muggs continued talking.  _ “Your father is ruining lives. He deserves to sit behind bars for the rest of his miserable life.”  _ All the girls looked at the woman with hurt in their eyes, as much as they might go against their parents, hearing such a thing is not easy, and Veronica was distraught.  

They went to the Pembrooke, as Cheryl wasn’t welcome at the Cooper’s and Thornhill would make things worse. They sat in front of the fire and cuddled with Ronnie, trying to comfort her as best as they could. When Hermione arrived and saw the scene, she got worried and asked what had happened. Veronica answered coldly.

_ “Daddy happened. Mr. Muggs tried to kill himself because of daddy’s business.”  _ She turned to face her mother.  _ “And you’re a part of it.”  _ She was disgusted by her own family. Maybe they were as bad as the Blossoms, but only hid it better. 

_ “Yes, but not directly. I helped smooth things over.”  _ Upon seeing her daughter’s face, her heart broke.  _ “What can I do to make this better, mija?”  _ Ronnie took a deep breath.

_ “Stop. Stop helping him, stop lying for him, stop defending him. He did a lot of bad things, and he should pay for them, not other people.”  _ Hermione bowed her head.

_ “I can’t go against him, Ronnie. I’m loyal to him. But what I can do is not vouch for anyone. Not serve as anyone’s witness.”  _ They looked at each other for a few moments, Cheryl and Betty trying to pretend they weren’t there. Then, Veronica huffed.

_ “Fine. But you gotta go to the hospital and talk to the Muggs.”  _ Hermione sighed, but she knew there was no other way.

_ “Okay, I’ll go see them tomorrow. Can I please just hug my daughter now? So I can comfort her?”  _ She sounded defeated and heartbroken, and then Veronica opened her arms, inviting her mom. Cheryl and Betty didn’t know what to do, and the blonde started to get up to leave. Cheryl meant to do the same, until both of them noticed Veronica hadn’t let go of the redhead’s hand, even while cuddling with her mom. Betty gestured saying she was gonna go, and Cheryl waved her hand in despair, mouthing  _ ‘don’t you dare leave me!”.  _ Betty cursed the girl, but walked back. After a while like this, and Veronica and her mother having a quiet conversation in spanish, Hermione turned to the two girls sitting on the couch, Cheryl’s hand still trapped in the mother-daughter mess. 

_ “So, you’re the girl my daughter is in love with, huh?”  _ It was a teasing tone, and Cheryl got as red as her hair, and stumbled through her words.

_ “Hm… I… eh…”  _ Seeing amused smirks everywhere, something else came to her mind, and she turned her head swiftly towards her girlfriend.  _ “You’re in love with me?!”  _ Veronica was taken by surprise, and was silent. Hermione and Betty watched curiously.

_ “I-I mean… yeah, I guess so.” _

_ “You guess so?”     _

_ “I know so. I’m in love with you, Cher-bear.”  _ Her expression went from unsure to                                

confident, and Cheryl’s eyes began to water, which worried all of the women there. Veronica kneeled in front of her girlfriend and took both of her hands on her own. Then, she put her hand on the girl’s chin and forced it up, so the redhead had to look her in the eyes.  _ “Baby, what’s wrong?”  _ She was so concerned. 

Cher let out a violent sob escape, and hugged her knees.

_ “No one ever loved me. I don’t know what love is.”  _ You could hear four hearts breaking in unison.

_ “Jason loved you, Cheryl. A lot.” _

_ “Yeah, everyone could see that, Cheryl.”  _ Betty offered.

_ “Yes, he did. But I don’t think he would’ve if we weren’t twins.” _

_ “Well, I love you, and we aren’t twins. You’re amazing, and I want to be by your side forever. And now you’ve seen that it’s not just your family who’s not very right.”  _ Both girls smiled a bit.

_ “And we love you too, Cheryl. You might’ve stopped talking to us, and we might think you’re a major bitch now, but Archie and I still care about you. And don’t tell him I said this, but Jug cares about you too. He says you’re the only worthy adversary in a debate.”  _ She laughed lightly at her boyfriend, and Cher followed. She was happy now, and confident enough to turn to her mother-in-law in the eyes.

_ “Then yes, I am the girl your daughter is in love with. And she is the girl I’m in love with.”  _ The woman looked pleased and answered playfully.

_ “Do I have to have ‘the talk’ with her, Betty?”  _ Everyone eyed the blonde, who felt overwhelmed, thinking about how Cheryl is the school’s Bitch, how she bullied people, how reckless and impulsive the girl was. But suddenly she relaxed, because she remembered how she was with Veronica, how soft and caring and vulnerable she was. And how Ronnie spoke about the girl as if she had hung the moon. The Cooper relaxed her shoulders and shook her head.

_ “No, Mrs. Lodge. Veronica is in very good hands with Cheryl.”  _ Cheryl gave her a big grateful smile. _ “We might have to watch out for Penelope Blossom, though.”  _ Everyone burst out in laughter.

_ “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Cheryl. From what I’ve heard, you’re nothing like the Blossoms I went to school with.”  _ They shared a warm smile.

_ “It’s my pleasure, Mrs. Lodge.-” _

_ “It’s Hermione, please, for both of you.” _

_ “Well, Veronica has told me wonders about you. Just please keep the promise you just made her, that you won’t testify in behalf of Mr. Lodge, it means the world to her.” _

_ “Yes, don’t worry, I will.”  _

They chatted for a while more, and as the girls were leaving, Cheryl reminded her girlfriend of the banquet the next night.

_ “Remember, I’m wearing viridian.”  _ Ronn spoke at the same time.

_ “Wearing viridian, I know. Don’t worry so much, princess, I know how to dress.”  _

_ “That you do.” _

They said goodbye with a kiss, and the redhead took Betty home.

***

The next night, Veronica found herself standing in the doorway of Thornhill, waiting for it to be opened. When it did, she was met by her girlfriend, in the so talked viridian dress, which showed an interesting amount of cleavage, and gorgeous diamond choker. Seeing the latina, who was wearing a sequin pleated black dress, made Cheryl give a wide smile and her knees buckle slightly.

She took Veronica’s hand and guided her to the table, sitting side by side. After a minute, Clifford asked everyone to take their seats and be quiet.

_ “We were tested this year. As a town, as a company, mainly as a family. And it may not have been Jason's hand that staked the maple this year,”  _ Cheryl looked down, she knew they thought highly of her brother and nothing of her, _ “but it was the hand of hope.”  _ Everyone clapped, and Cheryl did it slower, out of obligation. As soon as everyone turned to their own private conversations, Cheryl turned to Ronnie.

_ “Don't think they're being nice or genuine. They wanted me to fail at the tree-tapping.”  _ The brunette looked puzzled.  _ “They don’t think I’m fit for taking over the company.” _

_ “I'll do whatever I can to help you, Cher.”  _ As she was about to continue, Clifford walked by, tapping her shoulder and asking for a moment.

_ “I'll be right back.” _

_ They went to a corner of the room, and  _  the man started talking.

_ “I don’t think you realized, but you've helped our family, by helping Cheryl, I mean. You might not blend in so well,”  _ he looked her up and down, referring to her skin color and hair,  _ “but I think you have a very bright future with us. That is, if you have your father’s… entrepreneurial spirit.”  _ He finished with a wave of his hand. Veronica was a little confused by the speech.

_ “Thank you, Mr. Blossom…” _

_ “Oh, it’s Clifford, please.” _

_ “Okay. Clifford, I like Cheryl, a lot, actually. And I'm delighted to be here for her, and if you think I’ll be good help in assisting her on the company, I’m more than happy to do it.”  _ She had a small smile, but the man pursed his lips together and looked at the ground for a second.

_ “You know, I'm going to be honest with you. Cheryl's a bright girl, but the Blossom board, they're very skeptical of having her play an active role in the company.”  _ Veronica understood where this was going, remembering what her girlfriend had said earlier.  _ “Now, someone with your stock and character by her side, tempering her more... erratic behavior, would be very good for us.”  _ The girl frowned at that, from what she’d seen, Cheryl only did impulsive and reckless things to get their attention, because they never took notice of her.  _ “Having you with us, with Cheryl, it tells a much more appealing story than her alone, which is something I think we could all use right about now. You'll help us, won't you?” _

Veronica’s breath was stuck on her throat, the last thing she wanted was to get involved in her father’s business, or one like it. However, it was looking like that was the only way to be seen in good eyes by the Blossom family. She clenched her jaw and looked at the ground. Clifford knew his manipulating ways, and didn’t care if he hurt the girl in front of him to get what he wanted.

_ “I’ll do whatever I can, sir.”  _

_ “Good.”  _ He tapped her shoulder and left Ronnie troubled, feeling sick to the stomach. 

She was going back to her seat by Cheryl’s side, but the girl was nowhere to be seen. Her confusion gave Penelope the cue to approach her, that same majorly fake smile she had on that sleepover plastered on her face.

_ “I don’t care what my husband thinks you can do or what that foolish girl wants, you shouldn't be here. It’s an embarrassment for this family. And knowing your kind,”  _ the woman looked her up and down, much like her husband did, before continuing,  _ “and your family, the last thing we need is you, poisoning our empire.”  _ Veronica was consumed by rage, and hissed.

_ “You don’t need me to poison anything, you do that by yourself.”  _ Penelope was about to protest, but a scene caught the latina’s eye: Cheryl and Clifford were arguing.

_ “I'm so done with this!”  _

_ “Do not make a scene,” _

_ “No, I'm done! I'm done!”  _

_ “Not now.” _

She exited the room, and Veronica didn’t even excuse herself before going after her soulmate, who was standing by the pool.

_ “Baby, what happened? You okay?”  _ The redhead turned sharply to face her.

_ “What did my dad say to you? That everyone thinks I'm a train wreck?”  _ Veronica opened her mouth to speak, but she didn’t know what to say. Cheryl pressed her lips together and looked at the ground, understanding what the silence meant. _ “Jason was the golden boy. But me? People hate me, Veronica. And at school, that's fine, whatever.”  _ She did a tiny eyeroll.  _ “But this is my family.”  _ Ronnie could feel how her lover’s heart was heavy with sadness, and lack of understanding why her parents didn’t care about her.

_ “Forget them, Cheryl. Forget what they think.”  _ It was the second time Ronnie had told her that, maybe she should listen.  _ “I think you're awesome, truly amazing.” _

_ “Oh, Veronica, sometimes I think you may be the only good person left in Riverdale. The only person who doesn't want something other than love from me. Or who doesn't want me to apologize for who I am and what I want.”  _ Ronnie had a soft smile, and snaked her arms around the taller girl’s waist.

_ “I just hope what you want is me.”  _ She teased, getting closer. Cheryl broke into a big smile.

_ “I never wanted anything more.”  _ They closed the space between them in a tender kiss. When they separated to get some air, Ronnie licked her lips and hummed, which made Cheryl raise an eyebrow.

_ “My lipstick's maple red, by the way. In case you're wondering why it tastes so sweet.”  _ Veronica smirked back.

They walked hand in hand, passing by the dining hall and up the stairs, into Cheryl’s room. Veronica laid on the bed, and invited Cher to lay on her shoulder. They stood like that, in silence, for a minute, both of them closing their eyes and taking a deep breath. It was the latina who spoke first.

_ “Your dad- your dad wants me to take over the company. He thinks you’re not fit.” _

_ “Oh.”  _ Was the only response she got.

_ “But the way he said it, it implied I’d need my dad’s way of doing things.”  _ Silence.  _ “Cheryl, are you sure the business is legal?”  _ The redhead buried her face on the crook of Veronica’s neck. 

_ “It has to be.” The latina looked at the scene with sadness. _

_ “My father hurt a lot of people, like Ethel’s family. I can’t do that.”  _ She hugged her girl tight.

_ “I’d never forgive myself if you had to because of my family.” _

They stared at each other, getting lost in the other’s eyes. Veronica had moved her hand to rest on Cher’s thigh unconsciously, and she saw her soulmate’s eyes get dark with lust. She smirked and started caressing the skin, giving the girl goosebumps. She was moving up, and Cher threw her head back, closing her eyes. Sometimes Ronnie forgot the girl had never done any of that, and got amused with her reactions. When the latina scrapped her nails on the entirety of her thigh, Cheryl let a moan escape. That ignited a flame in Veronica, who moved the fabric to the side and planted a kiss on the inside of her leg. Another moan. 

Cheryl was grasping on the sheets, she had never felt anything like that. Veronica moved to kiss red lips, initiating a quick make-out session.

_ “Stand up.”  _ Cher shot her eyes open, confused.

_ “What?”   _

_ “Stand up so I can rid of all this viridian mess.”  _ She explained quickly, but seeing the blush on her girlfriend’s cheek, noticed what she had said.  _ “I- I mean, if you’re okay with it. We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to, ever.”  _ She assured the girl, who smiled sweetly, before standing up and turning her back to Ronnie, so she could undo the dress.

Veronica did so with trembling hands, and her breath did the same as she watched the dress fall to the ground. Cheryl picked it up and tossed it to the side, before turning around to face Veronica. She opened her arms in a ‘this is it’ motion, and had an embarrassed smile on. 

Ronnie’s mouth hang slightly open at the view in front of her. As she made no movement, Cheryl got worried and self-conscious, crossing her arms over her stomach. Upon seeing this, Veronica sprung to action. She uncrossed her lover’s arms and took a step back to admire her body.

_ “I love you, Cher. And your body is a masterpiece, never think otherwise. You don’t have to feel like you have to hide it.” _

_ “I know, I just felt vulnerable like this.”  _ With that, Ronnie quickly took her own dress off.

_ “Done, now we are both vulnerable.”  _ They stood there on their underwear, smiling, and the latina resumed the kissing, slightly pushing them towards the bed once more.

When Cheryl’s legs touched the side of it and she fell on a sitting position, Veronica immediately climbed on her lap, one knee on each of Cheryl’s side, straddling her. This earned a whimper from the taller girl, and the brunette attacked red lips hungrily.

After a while doing that, Veronica pushed the girl so she’d be laying down. They rearranged themselves so Cheryl was resting her head on the pillow again. 

Veronica lowered herself and started nibbling and kissing at her girlfriend’s stomach, receiving a series of whimpers and gasps in return. Then, she moved her hand to caress the skin right below her bra, looking up to meet the brown eyes she loved. Cheryl nodded, giving permission for Veronica to cup one of Cher’s breasts, inciting a series of moans. 

She was at it for some time, before lowering the pace and moving up to kiss her girl, who was a gay mess. When they stopped, Cher moved her hands through the latina’s torso, resting on the hem of her underwear, and then tugging at it. Veronica looked at her, and saw something deep down. Shaking her head, she got the girl’s attention.

_ “Not today, babygirl.”  _ The answer came softly, in a whisper.

_ “Okay.”  _

They decided to cuddle, just enjoying the company. They stood like that for an hour or so, until a text came and Veronica took notice of the time. As she was at the door, about to leave, she gave Cheryl one last kiss that night.

_ “I think you’re more than fit. You’d be the greatest CEO ever.”  _ The redhead’s mouth was agape, and she lunged forward and wrapped the tiny girl in a tight hug.

_ *** _

The next day, the gang was at the Student Lounge before class started.

_ “Okay, Veronica, I have a burning question.”  _ Jughead, who had his head on Betty’s lap and legs over the arm rest of the sofa, pointed at her with his hands clasped together.

_ “No, Jughead, I do not have a burger made of jewels.”  _ They both rolled their eyes.

_ “As awesome as that would be, no, that wasn’t the question.” _

_ “Then what is?”  _ Everyone was paying attention.

_ “Who”  _ he brought his finger over his mouth and raised an eyebrow in a dramatic pause,  _ “is your soulmate? We know you two are already an item, but the mystery continues.”  _ She smirked.

_ “Well, aren’t you our great Sherlock Holmes? Haven’t you figured it out yet?”  _ He seemed conflicted, not wanting to reveal he had no clue who it was.

_ “Well, I mean, I have my suspicions, but only you can truly tell us.”  _ She laughed and decided to tell them. Cheryl and her had talked and agreed they should start coming out to people.

_ “Let’s say she”  _ the emphasis on the word was noticeably,  _ “strutted in, and with a sway of hips and a hair flip, my world had a red explosion  _ and  _ blossomed into something truly wonderful.”  _ She had a glimmer in her eyes. Jughead jumped up.

_ “No way! You’re joking, right?!”  _ He was so excited and amused. Suddenly, Archie, who had a very confused expression, spoke.

_ “What? Who is it?”  _ Everyone turned to look at him with a ‘are you serious?’ face. He noticed and leaned back, trying to distance himself.  _ “What? Ronnie, you said a bunch of words, but didn’t say who it was!”  _ Jughead rolled his eyes and sighed at his best friend.

_ “Cheryl, Archie, Cheryl Blossom.” _ Archie tilted his head.

_ “What’s with Cheryl?”  _ He looked around the room,  _ “She’s here and can’t know?”  _ They all groaned.

As this was happening, the red queen herself had arrived, and Veronica and her exchanged a mischievous look. Ronnie got up, and cleared her throat, getting the gang’s attention. She cupped Cheryl’s cheeks and they locked lips. Archie raised his eyebrows and opened his mouth.

_ “Cheryl,”  _ Veronica spoke forcefully and a bit annoyed at the boy,  _ “is my soulmate. And my girlfriend.”  _ He tried to speak, but stumbled over his words. With that, Ronnie sat again, motioning for Cheryl to do so on her lap.   

Some people looked at them, and the gossip started. Cheryl looked a bit warily at that, but Ronnie started playing with her hair and tugged at a strand to get the girl’s attention. 

_ “Don’t mind them, remember? They don’t matter.”  _ Cher nodded, and the conversation started again. 

_ “So, girls, homecoming, you going together, I presume?”  _ It was Kevin. They looked at each other for a moment.

_ “I guess so. We haven’t really talked about it, but after just now the whole school will know about us by lunch, so-” _

_ “Ronn, please, by the end of first period. Homecoming will be just a formality, a way for people to confirm the rumors and whisperings.”  _ Cheryl spoke with confidence.  _ “What about you, heartbreaker?”  _ Kevin and Cheryl were much friendlier now, they had had a one-on-one talk a few days back, and realized they had a lot in common.

_ “There’s this boy from Greendale, such a hottie. And he crossed the river to see me! So yeah, no soulmate, but the sex is great.”  _ Everyone groaned but Cheryl and Jughead, who laughed.

_ “Me and Jug are a go, I convinced him it is an unpleasant social gathering worth suffering for.”  _ Betty gave a sweet smile and shrugged.

_ “She promised me a week of burgers.”  _ Jughead explained.

_ “Makes much more sense.” _

_ “What about you, Arch?”  _ The boy shrugged.

_ “Nah, Betty, didn’t swoop anyone, especially not my soulmate.”  _ He seemed bummed out, and the girl squeezed his knee in comfort.

Veronica looked at her phone and saw she had to go now, if she wanted to make it back for 1st period. She tapped her girlfriend’s thigh, and Cheryl got up. 

_ “Guys, we have to go do something”  _ eyebrows were raised and smirks appeared, making Cheryl blush violently. Veronica caught up with the thoughts,  _ “Not like that, you pervs!” _ She grabbed her girlfriend’s hand and stormed out of the Lounge.

_ “Are you sure you want to do this?”  _ Cheryl didn’t want to see the scene at the hospital repeat itself.

_ “I have to. I can’t live with myself if I don’t.” _

Veronica entered a classroom, where Ethel was, while Cheryl stood outside.

_ “Ethel, I meant what I said.”  _ The girl seemed wary of Ronnie.  _ “I'm sorry, for everything my family did to yours.”  _ Ethel thought for a moment, before speaking.

_ “It's not your fault what your dad did. And you were there for me when no one else was.”  _ Veronica smiled, she had done something good. “ _ More than once. Seat's not taken, if you want it.” _

The latina took the offer, and waved her girlfriend, who was paying attention to see if she was needed, goodbye.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me what you guys think, what you expect and all that :)


	6. Loneliness is the coldest of bitches

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's too much going on and Cheryl feels abandoned, and Ronnie promises herself she's never gonna let her girl feel this way again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, guys! Sorry for the long wait, but here it is! We reach the end of season 1 and Veronica has the proper reaction to Cheryl's suicide attempt, so we can all pretend the writers didn't fuck up her character :)

 

Cheryl had been avoiding walking around Thornhill like her life depended on it. Why? To not risk running into anyone, even Polly, who was a constant reminder of her loss. She pretended the girl wasn’t there at all.

Away from Veronica and Cheryl, Jughead, Betty, Alice and sometimes Archie were investigating Jason’s murder. Veronica had found out a connection between the Blossoms and her father, and had given that to Betty and Alice, who was after FP.

The day of the homecoming Polly was helping Cheryl get ready at Penelope’s bedroom, when they found the ring Jason gave the blonde. Cheryl understood what that meant on the spot: her parents had something to do with her brother’s murder. 

After confronting her mother about it, her suspicions were confirmed. Penelope told them Jason threw the ring in Clifford’s face, after giving up the Blossom name. Both Polly and Cheryl knew Jay-Jay would never do that, as Nana Rose was one of the only members of the family that weren’t horrible, and she had supported his decision.

Polly didn’t want to go to homecoming anymore, especially with no date, no Jason. Cheryl needed to go. She needed Ronnie.

Looking through her closet, she saw a certain dress, and smirked.

 

***

**Cheryl Bombshell:** it’s not a party without me

**Cheryl Bombshell:** it’s not me if there’s no grand entrance

 

Upon reading the humorous text and getting curious, Ronnie turned around to face the gym’s door right on time. Through it walked in her red beauty, synched with the upbeat song, and everyone looked at her as a spotlight shone on her. Though Cheryl always strutted rather than walked, this time there was an extra fire behind it. 

 When she reached Veronica, she had no time to say a single word, as Cheryl grabbed her neck with her free hand and locked lips with the brunette. 

_ “Whoa! That was… quite the entrance.”  _ Cher had a predatory smirk on. She turned and started walking towards the beverages without a single word. She was waiting for Veronica’s reaction to her ensemble. 

As soon as her girlfriend walked past her, her brain registered. She was wearing a red gown, straps met in a collar, the back only hugged by more straps. It was the most breathtaking sight see had ever taken in. The dress hugged flawlessly her girlfriend’s more than amazing body. Her high ponytail and perfect makeup made the look simply impeccable. Her mouth was dry and open, she hadn’t blinked in ages, and her knees went weak as she was suddenly  _ very _ hot and bothered.

Cher turned around, and seeing her girlfriend’s state, smirked proudly. She walked back, confidence boosted to the roof.

_ “So, ma cherie, I remember saying I wanted to see your reaction to my favorite dress. Ça y est. And let me tell you, it was so worth it.” S _ he finished, closing Veronica’s mouth with her hand, which rested on the girl’s chin so she could pull her in for another kiss.

_ “You- I-”  _ Veronica let out a breath  _ “You are so beautiful!”  _ She lunged forward, wrapping her arms around Cheryl’s neck and locking lips in a heated kiss yet again. When they separated, Cheryl blushed and her confident posture melted to a soft one. She took in the sight before her.

_ “Oh, Ronnie, you have no idea how beautiful  _ **_you_ ** _ are, do you? I have to spend hours getting ready to go anywhere, whereas you are effortlessly dashing.”  _ Cher had a glimmer in her eyes, and Veronica blushed and looked away.  _ “Veronica Lodge, you are the most beautiful girl I have ever laid my eyes upon.” _

They danced a slow song and then joined the rest of the gang. After a while of chatter, Veronica pulled Cher to the side and they started walking alone.

_ “Cher, I need to tell you something.”  _ She was spooked.

_ “Okay, go ahead. I also needed to talk to you, though.”  _ Ronnie gulped and looked around before speaking.

_ “Me and Archie broke into Jughead’s father’s trailer. Alice was in on it with us, we wanted to see if FP had something to do with Jason or my father.”  _ Cher looked at her with a blank face.  _ “I need to know if either of them are involved in causing you such misery, babe.”  _ Ronnie caressed her cheek, and Cher leaned into the gesture, closing her eyes.

_ “I love you, ‘Ronica. I’m a bit hurt you didn’t take me with you, but I don’t think I’d be able to handle it. It’s sweet what you did, but also very reckless and dangerous. I can’t have you going to jail.”  _ She started serious but ended with a playful tone.

_ “I didn’t think you’d like to be a part of that. And we, uh, we didn’t find anything. FP did not kill your brother, in case you were wondering.”  _ Cher looked at the ground and spoke softly.

_ “Good to know my best friend’s father didn’t do it.”  _ They chuckled, and Veronica took a teasing tone.

_ “Did Cheryl Blossom just admit she’s best friends with Jughead Jones?”  _ The redhead rolled her eyes and  mumbled, shoving her girl lightly.

_ “Shut up. If you say anything, I’ll die denying it.”  _ On the few days prior to the dance, Jug and Cher had spent quite some time together, as their girlfriends were best friends. Their humor was very alike, and sarcasm was both of their first languages. 

They resumed walking, hand in hand, swinging them.  _ “I… I talked to my parents before coming here.”  _ Veronica tilted her head in a ‘go on’ motion. Cheryl took out of her purse Nana Rose’s ring. She told her parents she had thrown it down the toilet, but she’d never give it up. Holding it up so the latina could see it, she continued.  _ “ _ **_This_ ** _ was in dear mommy’s bedroom.”  _ Veronica raised an eyebrow.  _ “It was Nana’s. She gave it to Jason, for him to propose to Polly, but he kept it after doing so.”  _ She waited a beat.

_ “But where was-?”  _ Cheryl cut her.

_ “It was with him, that day. He showed it to me and then put it on his pocket. Veronica, there is no way my parents could have gotten it from him, as they claim.”  _ She looked at her soulmate with anguish and terror.  _ “My parents had something to do with Jason’s murder.”  _

_ “Wait, Cheryl. Couldn’t they have gotten it from the coroner?”  _ Cheryl scoffed.

_ “After a week of being under water, do you really think the ring would still be in his pocket? I don’t think so.”  _ They were silent for a few moments. 

Suddenly, mayor McCoy announced that Archie and Veronica would be performing. Cheryl whipped her head around to look more than confused at her girlfriend. Veronica had an apologetic face.

_ “I forgot to tell you, it was a last minute arrangement. Gotta go, babe.”  _ She left quickly, leaving a dumbfounded Cheryl behind.

_ “Archie, huh…”  _ She couldn’t help but wonder why Ronnie didn’t invite her to sing with. She was always the ‘understudy’ for the Pussycats, and took pride in her singing abilities. Plus, she was Veronica’s soulmate, and way hotter than Archie Andrews. __

The performance was marvelous, of course. At least Ronnie’s part. At the middle of it, though, Cheryl’s reality came crashing down on her. It was like every abuse she took, every heartbreak, every doubt pestered her mind at the same time. Overwhelmed, she left the gym in silent tears.

Right after their performance, Archie and Veronica were pulled to the corridor by Betty. She interrogated them and got the truth out. When Jughead appeared, and his trust in his friends was broken, Kevin and the gang’s parents showed up. FP had been arrested for the murder of Jason Blossom.

Veronica couldn’t understand, they hadn’t found anything on his trailer, where did the police find evidence? And what evidence?

After Jughead ran away, Hermione took Veronica home. Her mind was so scrambled with everything, and now her mother was talking about running away, she didn’t notice Cheryl had fled in the middle of her performance.

Cheryl didn’t text her. 

 

***

 

Arriving at home after the freezing walk to Thornhill, Cheryl watched her mother, distraught, cry for Jason and curse FP, and her father, almost emotionless. Her heart ached for her mother, even if she had always treated Cheryl like nothing but garbage. She was cautious about her father, but smug about fooling them with the ring story. She was also confused, seeing as Veronica had told her FP had nothing to do with Jason’s murder. It was a swirl of emotions inside her, each surfacing at a different moment. 

She looked at her phone coldly: no texts or calls from Veronica. 

 

At Pop’s, Veronica and Archie explained to Betty how FP was being framed. Then, they rushed out the diner to talk to their parents. It was all a mess, kids trying to reason with adults over a framed murder. 

After that ordeal, Hermione got more anxious about leaving. Reality was washing upon Veronica: her mother was a criminal, and they were in real danger.

 

Cheryl laid down on her bed, mind swirling. She had so many thoughts she couldn't hear any of them, much less make sense of them.

 

Veronica met Betty and Archie back at Pop’s, where they found Jughead. After explaining how his father was not a murderer, they raced to the Sheriff's station, where they learned FP had confessed.   

They were all exhausted, and Veronica headed home. After taking a shower and brushing her teeth, all she wanted was sleep. She fell on the bed heavily and closed her eyes, before groaning and getting her phone. Cheryl needed to know this development, as she probably thought Ronnie had lied to her. 

 

**Ronnie:** Cheryl, FP is innocent!

**Ronnie:** I’ll explain everything to you tomorrow

 

**Cheryl Bombshell:** whatever do you mean?

**Cheryl Bombshell:** he confessed

**Cheryl Bombshell:** it’s really late for this, Ronn

**Cheryl Bombshell:** I can’t do this right now

 

**Ronnie:** okay

**Ronnie:** talk to you tomorrow, beau

**Ronnie:** sleep tight, I love you 

 

**Cheryl Bombshell:** love you too

 

Veronica just sighed, she knew she had to push it more, but she was so tired. In a matter of seconds she was out.

 

***

 

The next day, the Blossoms were eating breakfast, when Polly arrived. Penelope broke the news with relief in her voice, handing the girl the paper about FP’s arrest.

_ “Polly, the most incredible thing has happened.”  _ The blonde looked confused.

_ “He killed Jason, not-?”  _ The girl stopped herself before she said something wrong. Cheryl was tense; Clifford looked at the Cooper expectantly, and leaned forward, before adding: 

_ “I went to the station, I looked our son's killer in the eye.”  _ He leaned back. _ “Finally, we'll have peace.”  _ Penelope nodded and completed the thought.

_ “Jason will have peace. And we... We can all start over. All of us.”  _ Cheryl looked warily to her mother, and shared a puzzled look with Polly.

 

***

 

Veronica arrived late for school, and seeing she didn’t have any classes with Cher, they didn’t see each other until lunch. She watched her girlfriend from a distance, as she hadn’t sat with them, and a bunch of people who had never talked to teh Blossom were all over her, squeezing her shoulder and even hugging the redhead, not giving the latina the chance to talk to her girlfriend. 

Suddenly, the whole cafeteria started murmuring and looking somewhere. When the gang turned around, they saw no one but Jughead himself. He walked up to where Cheryl was and apologised. The girl got up and took a step closer to him, before slapping his cheek and pummeling his chest. Jughead didn’t react at first, but after taking a few hits from the hysterical girl, he wrapped his arms around her and held tight until she stopped and just cried while hugging him back. She knew it wasn’t fair to the boy, but she was just too broken at the time. When she came to her senses, she left the room sobbing, and went to the bathroom. Veronica immediately followed her, and, entering the room, saw her girl bent on the sink, mascara ruined.

“ _ Cheryl?”  _ She called, announcing her presence.

_ “I barely touched him.”  _ Came the answer, followed by a sniffle.

_ “It's not his fault, Cheryl. Even if his dad did do it, it's-”  _ She was cautiously closing the distance between them, and the redhead was intensely staring at her own reflection in the mirror, not meeting Veronica’s eyes. __

_ “Everybody keeps coming up to me, and hugging me, and telling me that I must be so relieved that my brother's killer has finally been caught. That this nightmare is over.”  _ She turned to face her girlfriend, tears running down her pale cheeks.  _ “Then why doesn't it feel that way?”  _ Ronnie could feel the girls heart heavy with anguish, and after a beat, she took a step closer. And another, and one more, until their bodies were almost touching.

Veronica lifted her arms slowly, hugging the taller girl’s neck, and then embracing her whole body, as Cheryl racked with sobs. She guided them to a bench, and as soon as they sat, Cher moved even closer, grabbing Veronica’s body like a scared kid, impossibly tight.

They stayed like that for quite a while, but then changed to sit more comfortably on the floor. Cher moved to sit on Ronnie’s lap, and, with her arms draped over the latina’s neck, rested her head on her shoulder. After a few minutes of tanned hands brushing red strands of hair, maple red lips touched softly the flesh on Veronica’s neck. It was a sweet act, not one bit sexual. Ronn tilted her head down with a warm smile, and Cher looked up with a sad one, and their lips met with a soft brush. 

_ “You said you were going to tell me today.”  _ Voice hoarse from crying echoed through the room.

_ “Huh?”  _ Veronica furrowed her brows.

_ “FP. You said he was innocent, and then he was arrested, and then you told me again he is innocent, and you were going to explain to me. Do it.”  _ The brunette closed her eyes and sighed.

_ “Okay. Hm… You know how me and Archie broke into his trailer, right?”  _ The Blossom had her eyes closed and hummed.  _ “Well, we didn’t find anything, and there wasn’t many places to hide anything. But, Sheriff Keller found a gun.  _ **_The_ ** _ gun.”  _ At that, Veronica heard Cheryl take a sharp breath.  _ “But, babe, there was no gun when we looked. Someone put it there after we looked, he’s being framed.”  _

They were staring at each other worriedly. The moment was cut by the bell ringing, signaling the end of classes. This made the redhead jump, and she began shuffling to get on her feet. Veronica was a bit stunned with the movement.

_ “I- I have to go. Mommy’s been particularly disappointed in me these days.”  _ With the distress in her girlfriend’s words, Ronnie got even more preoccupied with the situation at Thornhill.

_ “Babe, has your mother been-”  _ Cheryl moved around the room fast, grabbing her bag and cutting Ronnie.

_ “I really have to go.”  _ She gave Veronica a kiss and stormed out of the school.

 

***

 

Arriving at Thornhill, she found her mother crying once more. When Penelope noticed her daughter, she walked over to her and grabbed her chin forcefully. Cheryl was scared, much like every other second in that mansion. 

_ “It doesn’t matter what your father says, you are not fit to run our empire, you’re weak, Cheryl. It should have been you at the end of that gun.”  _ She shoved the girl’s head away, and, with tears streaming down her face again, Cheryl ran to her room.

In the middle of the night, loud banging woke up the entirety of the house. It was the Coopers, talking about how they are actually Blossoms, and that Jason and Polly’s relationship was incestuous. In no time, Polly was being dragged away by Alice, and Cheryl made no effort to try and stop her.

As Veronica catched up on Joaquin being FP’s one phone-call, she got Kevin to come with her and Archie to interrogate them, she was hell-bent on finding out if it had been her father who had hired the Serpent. They asked if FP had done, and Joaquin said he thought so.

_“On July 11th, I got a phone call in the middle of the night from FP. Said he needed help with some clean-up job at the Whyte Wyrm.”_ He proceeded to tell what happened at the basement of the White Wyrm. _“That’s where I saw... He'd been shot. I never asked FP if he did it. I just- I mean, I was terrified. I- I just assumed. We stashed the body in the freezer, cleaned up the mess, got rid of any evidence.”_ Kevin was incredulous. Veronica didn’t seem very fazed, and resumed on asking if her father was involved, again.

The boy told her he had heard a conversation between FP and Mustang -another Serpent, the only other person who knew about the clean-up- about some rich guy. Veronica huffed.

_ “It has to be my dad, who else would it be? Unbelievable.”  _ Archie touched her arm softly and asked if they could talk alone; he had a worried look on.

_ “Ronnie, you’ve been on this manhunt for a connection with your father, but now you say it’s unbelievable? Did you want him to be involved?”  _ She sighed.

_ “No, of course not. But I want to hate him. He’s a terrible person, but I can’t stop loving him, and I hate myself for that.”  _ The boy hugged her for a moment.

_ “He’s your dad after all, I don’t think you could ever hate him.”  _ She sighed again.  _ “But Ronnie, there’s something else. You said you wanted to do this so you could give Cheryl closure, because she didn’t feel like she had one. Yet, all you do is ask about your father. Are you trying to find the real murderer, for her, or are you trying to make your father it, for you?”  _ He had a serious face, and Veronica looked anguished. What was the real reason? She had told herself it was for Cheryl, the love of her life, but Archie had a point, she had only been asking about Hiram. She rested her forehead on his chest.

_ “I do love her, more than anything on this miserable, stinking world. And I am doing this for her. But maybe also for myself. Maybe more for myself. I’m so selfish.”  _ He held her.

_ “You’re not. Cheryl is important, but so are you. But maybe try to keep your mind open, your father might not have anything to do with this. It’s not like everything is pointing at him.”  _ She nodded.

 

_ *** _

 

Cheryl had been thinking about her brother, and her father, and their business. Daddy said Jay-Jay couldn’t handle it, but what was so hard about selling Maple syrup? Wasn’t it like any other business? That, and Ronnie’s vehement conviction that FP hadn’t done it, got her more suspicious than she already was. The girl knew her family was wicked, she felt it on her skin everyday, which opened a whole world of possibilities. She decided to ask her mother, even if that was essentially dangerous.  

_ “Mommy, that last morning, before Jay-Jay and I went to the river, why were he and Daddy arguing?”  _ Penelope was staring straight ahead, at the burning fire.

_  “We've been over this.”  _ Her voice was stern. _ “Your father dedicated himself to grooming Jason to take over the family business,”  _ Cheryl sighed and nodded her head, annoyed, this was like a broken record, _ “but in the end-” _

_ “He couldn't stomach it. I remember, he told me.”  _ Without any reaction from her mother, Cheryl kneeled in front of her, a bit worried.  _ “But why? What couldn't he handle?”  _ The woman finally turned to face her.

_ “So many questions, Cheryl.”  _ She took her daughter’s hand on hers, almost motherly, and Cheryl let her.

_ “I think something happened, Mommy.”  _ Penelope seemed oblivious to Cheryl’s thoughts.

_ “Whatever do you mean?”  _ The woman stopped smiling, catching up to the girl’s antics. 

_ “If Daddy wasn't mad at Jason about Polly, it must have been about the business. I don't know if he heard something he shouldn't have, or he saw something he didn't like…” _

_ “You don't know what you're saying.” _

_ “What was Jay-Jay running away from? The business? Daddy?”  _ She waited a beat, fear showing, along with her tear-filled eyes, _ “You?”  _ At that, Penelope dug her nails into her daughter’s hands, pulling her outside the house, and towards one of the barns.

_ “You think your father killed your brother? You think I did? You think we murdered him and threw him in the river, because Jason knew some deep, dark, horrible secret about our business?”  _ The woman was growling, and Cheryl about to cry.  _  “You want answers, Cheryl? Are you ready?”  _ She forcefully pushed the girl inside. _ “There it is!”  _ She motioned around, and Cher looked at all those barrels. _ “There's the sticky, dark, dirty truth. Maple syrup! Drown in it, why don't you?” _

 

_ *** _

 

Meanwhile, Veronica answered Betty’s call to meet the gang. Joaquin had led them to Jason’s varsity jacket, saying it could either save or drown FP. Betty ended up finding a pen-drive on its pocket.

Everyone gathered around the computer to see what was in it. It turned out to be a video. The video of Clifford Blossom shooting his very own son on the head. The whole gang was terrified, Betty had her eyes wide, tears on her face. Veronica was the most frantic one, covering her mouth with her hands and sobbing hard at the image in front of her.

Betty got up and dialed on her phone.

_ “You have to get out of that house, listen to me. We have proof, your father killed Jason. You have to get out of Thornhill, Cheryl.”  _ A calm voice came through.

_ “I understand. Thank you.”  _ Two tears escaped the redhead’s eyes, and she walked downstairs to the dining table, more tears being wiped. Stopping by her mother’s side, she waited until her father inquired what she wanted. 

_ “You did a bad thing, Daddy.”  _ Penelope raised her head to look at her daughter, taken by surprise at the words.  _ “And now everyone knows.”  _ The woman looked puzzled at her husband, who looked terrified, and was speechless.

Veronica was still crying when they gave Alice the video and she went to the police station. When she finally managed to think, she jolted up.

_ “I have to see Cheryl, I have to go to Thornhill!”  _ Betty protested.

_ “V, it’s dangerous there, who knows what Clifford would do?!”  _

_ “Exactly, B! And my soulmate is there, trapped with a psychopath that didn’t hesitate on killing his very own son in cold blood!”  _ All the blonde saw in her best friend’s eyes was sadness and desperation.

_ “Okay, V, I’ll take you there.” _

_ “No, you go meet with your mother and Jughead in the station. I can get there alone.” _

Veronica drove past every red light, exceeded every speed limit to get to the mansion as fast as she could. 

When she did, it was right on time to see the police arriving, and Cheryl and Penelope pointing towards the barn.

She exited her car and walked slowly to Cher, who, when noticing Veronica, didn’t change her expression. The taller girl simply turned around and entered the mansion emotionless. Ronnie jogged to the door, stopping in front of Penelope, who did the same as her daughter, giving the brunette a cold look. She walked inside, and called out for her lover, who was just disappearing on the corner upstairs. Jogging to catch up, she caught Cheryl’s wrist and pulled, spinning the girl around.

_ “Babe, talk to me, how are you?”  _ She pleaded. Cher still had the same face, blank, almost bored. Veronica was lost, beginning to feel desperate.

_ “Veronica, you’re here. How very.”  _ She turned around and entered her room. Ronnie was still lost with the redhead’s behaviour, and followed her.

_ “I came here to see how you were doing, to be with you.”  _

“Well, I didn’t ask you to. And, as you’re seeing, I’m fine.” Veronica was ready to shout at the girl, say how bitchy that was, that she could be alone, then, if her company wasn’t welcome. But then, she looked at those maple brown eyes, and saw them darker than ever. She recognized that same brokenness, same loneliness from the pep rally, and she understood. Softening her features, she took a step closer, caressing her lover’s pale cheek. Upon seeing her lean in to the touch and close her eyes, Veronica was sure of her suspicions.

_ “You’re not alone, Cheryl. I’m here. For you, always.”  _ A tear escaped the redhead, followed by a sob. The smaller girl hugged her girlfriend, who was crying hard. 

They moved to the large bed, and once more, Veronica found herself running her fingers through Cheryl’s hair, trying to calm her. Even given the situations that had happened, it was one thing she really enjoyed doing. 

Cher must’ve cried for what felt like hours, with Ronn whispering soothing words on her ear. When she stopped, Veronica asked.

_ “Baby, what happened in the barn? You directed the police there. Where’s your father?” _

 Cheryl gathered her thoughts and spoke, head still hiding on the crook of Veronica’s neck.

_ “I hated him, everyday of my life. But now I-”  _ She stopped herself.  _ “He hung himself, Ronn.”  _ The brunette gasped.  _ “And I hated him, and yet I cry for him. I hated him and yet I loved him. Jay-Jay was my only light in this sea of darkness, and he took that away from me!”  _ She was sobbing again, this time with anger along with the sadness. Veronica held her even tighter. 

_ “Shh baby, it’s okay. He was your father, you can cry for his loss, you’re allowed to feel. I tried so hard to hate my father, but I still love him, and that’s okay. Do you hear me? It’s okay.”  _

Veronica got up and got the redhead’s computer. Cher was a bit confused, but didn’t protest. When she heard a voice coming out of the speakers,  _ “Twas a long time ago, longer now than it seems, in a place that perhaps you’ve seen in your dreams. For the story you’re about to be told took place in the holiday worlds of old…”  _ she squealed and hugged Ronnie like a kid, and, in no time, the redhead was also excitedly singing like one,  _ “Boys and girls of every age, wouldn't you like to see something strange?” _ Veronica laughed wholeheartedly seeing the scene, she was so whipped.

Around the middle of the movie, Cher turned to Veronica.

_ “I guess I owe Jug an apology.”  _

_ “That would be nice. Does Cheryl Blossom, Riverdale High’s HBIC do nice now?”  _ The redhead chuckled.

_ “She does ‘being a decent human being’.”  _

The brunette left the mansion a little after the movie ended, showering her girl with silly kisses all over her face and arm, making the redhead squeal and laugh. 

The next day, Penelope came banging on the door, entering without permission. Seeing her daughter trying to hide the still present giddy smile, she quickly made a remark.

_ “You think that girl likes you? Please, you’re just a toy she’ll get bored of in no time.”  _ Cheryl closed her eyes sadly at the words.  _ “Now, put some decent clothing. We’re burying him.” _

There was no ceremony. No one was invited and no one came, nor showed any interest on the event. He was not laid to rest beside Jason, Penelope didn’t allow it, and the man didn’t get a tombstone.

Back at the house, Penelope entered the barn, and Cheryl kept crying.

_ “It was to have been the grandest funeral in Riverdale history. Instead, he was buried like a pauper.”  _ She turned to her daughter and upon seeing her tears, scoffed.  _ “Why are you crying? You hated him.”  _ That made the girl sob.

_ “Don't say that, Mommy.” _

_ “We've always been cursed, ever since the original murder when brother killed brother. Who will the Grim Reaper take next? You?”  _ Cher was shocked at that, as it had sounded like a threat for a second. _ “Me? Maybe your father had the right idea.”  _ She eyed the chains from which Clifford hang. _ “Just end it. Better the sweet hereafter than this awful limbo.”  _ The woman left, leaving a teary Cheryl behind, who looked sadly at the chains, her mother’s word echoing on her brain.

Veronica distracting her the day prior had been good, but it didn’t take the pain away, even if she made it sound like it did. Her father killed his own son, her twin brother, her only source of happiness and peace. Cheryl’s heart was shattered a long time ago by everyone around her, specially her parents. Yet, it broke further with the loss of Jason, and she contemplated joining him in the afterlife many times. But now, seeing her family was capable of such darkness, only to keep their money, made Cheryl want not to disappear, but to be gone. 

Veronica knew Cher was going through a rough patch, but she had no idea the depth which her self hatred took her, how all the pain she felt turned against her, making her despise her own existence to the point in which she decided her presence should no longer pester the world. 

She had to thank her lover, though. And what better way than remembering their start? Yes, their petty feud. 

The next day, she went about her classes like everyday, and then told Veronica to meet her at the locker room, when the girl didn’t show up at the beginning of practice, it was of the most utter importance. The girl was smoothing her HBIC Vixen’s practice shirt, almost petting it, as it was one of her most precious belongings, when her soulmate appeared, panting.

“ _Cheryl, I'm so sorry I'm late.”_ The girl smiled softly. _  
__“All you missed was my abdication. The Vixens are in the gym awaiting you, their new directorix.”_

_ “What?”  _ The latina asked, laughing at the absurdity of the sentence.

_ “And I wanted to give you this.”  _ Cheryl handed her the blouse.

_ “Your HBIC shirt?!”  _ This was unreal and very strange.

_“These last few days have put things in perspective.”_ She explained. _  
__“I understand.”_ No one should go through what her love was facing. _“But if you need anything, Cherry, I’m here. And if you decide to come back, the Vixens are your home.”_ Cher was content with Veronica’s words.

_ “I'm fine, and I won’t be coming back, don’t worry. The squad can finally have a captain they actually like.”  _ She gave a sad smile, and Ronnie caressed her arm.

_ “They don’t hate you.” _

_ “Oh, but they do. I know it, you know it, they know it. It’s fine, I dug my own grave.”  _ Veronica sighed, and moved a strand of red hair behind the girl’s ear.

_“How are you?”_ _  
__“I've shed my tears for the Blossom men.”_ She then moved to kiss the smaller girl heatedly. Giving one last stroke to her cheek, she grabbed her purse and turned to leave. _“Goodbye, my sweet raven.”_

 

_ *** _

 

After practice, Veronica went to Betty’s house to hang a bit. They immediately started talking about Cheryl giving up her spot as captain, and quitting the squad altogether. 

_ “It was so unexpected. I never thought there would be a day that Cheryl Blossom was not the cheerleading captain.”  _ She made a funny face, but Veronica was thoughtful.

_ “And she didn’t even tell me she was considering it. I mean, we had that little argument and the dance off, but I never truly wanted her spot. She was amazing at it, but maybe that triggered her somehow, B.”  _ The blonde tilted her head.

_ “You think she felt threatened? By you, her own soulmate?”  _ Ronn sighed.

_ “You don’t know what’s it like for her. The way she’s treated at that house. I only interacted with her parents, like, twice, and it was a complete nightmare.”  _ She shook her head.  _ “They make her feel worthless, like she’s never good enough, no matter how hard she tries.” _

_ “Maybe she just decided to quit trying to please them, if she knew it was impossible.”  _ The taller girl shrugged, and the brunette shook her head again.

_ “It was chilling, Betty. The way she spoke, so soft, like never before. And her too calm smile. I'm telling you, there are some dark goings on at Thornhill.”  _ Betty squeezed her knee in comfort. 

_ “It is Riverdale’s very own haunted house, after all. With two brand new ghosts on its hallways.”  _ Ronnie sighed.

 

***

 

The next day, Veronica approached a lonely Jughead eating lunch.

_ “Betty's babysitting Polly, mind if I join you?”  _ She was already sitting.

_ “Are you sure you want to sit at the social pariah table?”  _ They laughed.

_ “I've been sitting at it for months, why should today be any different? By the way, I've been thinking.”  _ The boy raised an eyebrow. “ _ You and I have a lot in common.”  _ He chuckled.

_ “Oh, because my dad's going to prison and your dad is getting out?”  _ Ronnie rolled her eyes.

_ “We're dating each other's best friends, I was going to say. But yes, the prison thing, too.”  _ As she finished, her girlfriend approached them shyly, a very un-Cheryl thing.

_ “Jughead. I'm sorry. I had no right to pummel you the way I did that day. As recompense, I'd like to give you this.”  _ She tossed him a small object, to which Veronica widened her eyes, realizing what it was and how precious to the redhead it was. _ “My iconic spider brooch.”  _ They looked at her puzzled. _ “It'll catch a pretty penny at the local pawn shop. Enough to keep you in burgers and “S” T-shirts for years, if not decades.”  _ She was beaming, which confused the brunette.

_ “Cherry, honey, what is going on?”  _ The taller girl took a serious, pained expression. Since the moment she arrived Ronnie thought that she looked like she was using every cell on her body to prevent herself from crying. 

_ “I'm…”  _ She was interrupted by Kevin, who was frantic.

_         “Guys, hurry. It's Betty's locker. Come on, it's bad. Come on, come on!”  _ Cheryl was left behind, dumbfounded, and hurt. Veronica barely minded her girlfriend, who was about to open up, even if just a bit. They met Archie a few steps further.

“ _ What's going on?”  _ And Veronica grabbed his arm, spinning the boy around.

_ “Come with us _ .”

Cheryl’s eyes became glassy with tears,  _ ‘Archie again!’,  _ and she marched out of the building angrily and heartbroken -again.

That night the Blossom cried herself to sleep.

 

***

 

At morning, Cheryl walked down the stairs to meet her mother, who was getting ready to head out.

“ _ Mommy, I was going to ask… Can I stay at home today?”  _ Penelope scoffed.

_ “Absolutely not.”  _ Cher looked down at the bottom of the stairs, hiding her face, voice hoarse from crying.

_ “It's so hard, Mommy, pretending everything's f-”  _ Penelope closed her eyes in annoyance and cut her.

_ “I don't care.”  _

            Cheryl was taken aback by the harshness, and ran back to her room.

 

***

 

At school, Betty told Veronica and Archie about her having a brother _.  _

_           “It's positively Dickensian. I love a long-lost brother.”  _ Ronn had a glimmer on her eye.  _ “How old would he be?” _

_ “Mid-twenties.” _

_ “Oh, my God. A blond Adonis, no doubt.”  _ As the blonde answered her phone, Veronica looked around and then at her phone.  _ “Where is Cheryl?! I miss her, and I haven’t heard from her in a while.” _ Archie chuckled.

_ “Whipped much, Ronnie?” _ She whined.

_ “Very. Where is she?!” _

Then Betty turned to them, hanging up her phone.

_ “It was Jughead. He’s at Southside High.”  _ With that, they all ran out Riverdale High and went after the boy, later finding him at the school cafeteria, with already a bunch of friends.

Outside, Veronica suddenly got a text from who she longed for so much.

 

**Cheryl Bombshell:** I love you like the sun loves the moon, like a cat loves to sleep. You have been a light on these dark times, and I’m forever grateful. It was an honor to be your soulmate, even if for so little. I hope you find your “...” Thanks for caring and trying, it meant a lot, but I’m gonna be with Jason now.

_ “She’s gonna be with Jason…? Archie, where would she go to b-”  _ Veronica’s eye went impossibly wide and panic took over. She yelled to the whole gang.

_ “WE HAVE TO GO TO SWEETWATER RIVER, RIGHT NOW!”  _ She raced to her car,  _ “C’MON YOU GUYS!”, _ and drove faster than ever before.

Arriving at the river, she scrambled out of the vehicle and immediately started calling for her lover. 

After a while with no answer, Veronica fell to her knees, crying hard. Betty grabbed her arms and pulled her up.

_ “You can’t give up. She needs you more than ever right now. We’ll find her, Ronnie.”  _ They walked further, getting to the shore of the river. Eyes roamed its frozen surface, until Veronica spotted the redhead, her hair contrasting heavily with the white snow.

The girl seemed to be banging on the floor. Ronnie was taken by confusion, furrowing her brows, and then she was agitated.

_ “She’s- She’s trying to break the ice!”  _ Veronica tried to get the girl’s attention.  _ “Cherry bomb! Cheryl!! Come to the shore and we’ll figure this out!”  _ With that, the Blossom turned around, Veronica had never seen saddest eyes, even from this distance.

When Cheryl was about to consider the offer, the ice beneath her broke, and she disappeared in the water in a second.

Veronica let out a gut-wrenching scream, and jolted forward, sprinting to her girlfriend. Jughead, Betty and Archie followed and they started looking for the girl.

_ “The current has her!”  _ Jughead yelled, and, after a moment, saw her beneath him. Archie began punching the ice, but Veronica pushed him aggressively to the side, taking her heels off and using them to break the ice. 

         Drowning and hypotermic, Cheryl had accepted her fate, not fighting to get back up. Yet, she saw her brother’s corpse with her, alive, much like a zombie, reaching for her, like the many nightmares she had. That snapped her from her actionless state, and she let out a scream, just when Veronica managed to break a hole big enough to pull the girl.

With her scream, Cheryl swallowed a huge amount of freezing water, essentially drowning her. Ronnie, noticing she wasn’t moving, much less breathing, quickly started mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. After a moment of lost hope, the unconscious girl spit out the water from her lungs, getting back to the land of the living.

Although alive, she was too tired and sick to move much, and Veronica, even without Archie’s strength, picked her up, running barefoot on the ice. 

_ “Archie, drive!”  _ He had her car’s key, and Veronica jumped on the passenger seat. She turned up the heat and directed it towards her girlfriend. 

_ “V, she has to get out of these wet clothes, or she’ll keep freezing!”  _ Betty spoke, and Veronica started taking the white dress off. Once that was done, Jughead handed her his coat, and she wrapped the redhead with it, holding her incredibly close and tight.

Arriving at the Pembrooke, Veronica once more sprinted, fastly approaching her house. She cursed, as the door was locked, and her mom wasn’t there. Throwing herself against it, shoulders first, almost trying to break the door open, she banged on it, and Cheryl winced, just when a very freaked Smithers unlocked the entrance.

The rest of the gang arrived and hurriedly searched for blankets, as Jughead went to the kitchen to warm some water.

Veronica sat the girl among countless pillows and blankets, and moved to light up the fireplace. They all gathered around the Blossom, who was slowly coming back to it. 

When she was fully conscious, she turned to Ronnie, and immediately began to cry, turning her back to her and hugging her knees. With that, Veronica looked at her friends and spoke softly, but imperative.

_ “Can- Can you guys… leave? I want to be alone with her.”  _ They all obliged and were soon gone.

_ “Cher-bear, look at me.”  _ She tried to move the girl, but she wouldn’t budge. Circling around, Veronica hugged her girlfriend, who fought back for a heartbeat, before being overwhelmed by her tiredness and sadness.

_ “I’m- I’m s-so sorry, Ronnie.”  _ The brunette started brushing her hair, like many times before.

_ “Shh… You don’t have to explain, or talk at all. Especially apologise. You didn’t do anything wrong.”  _ They stayed like that, Cheryl pressed against Veronica’s chest, hearing her heartbeat, for a while. When Ronn saw that the girl had fallen asleep, she maneuvered her to a better position, directly in front of the fire. Then, she went to her room to get some comfortable clothing, for both of them. After that, she went to the kitchen to make some hot cocoa. 

A few minutes later, as she was coming back to the living room, she noticed the girl was awake again, staring at the fire numbly. 

_“Hey, baby, here, got you some warm clothes and made you some hot chocolate, with a splash of  peppermint liquor.”_ She smiled softly. Cheryl took the cup and returned the smile.

_ “Thank you, love.”  _ After a few sips, she got up and was about to strip and change, when she noticed what she was doing and in front of whom. She gulped and covered her stomach with her arms. Ronnie saw that from the corner of her eye, and immediately went over.

_ “Babygirl, if you want, there’s a bathroom over there. But the last thing i’m thinking about is sex, or anything like that.”  _ The redhead nodded, and began to take her underwear off. Even with the girl’s understanding and apparent comfort, Veronica turned her back to her and arranged the pillows and blankets until the girl was ready. The taller girl, then, started to wrap herself again. 

_ “Are you warm enough?”  _ Ronnie was draping another blanket on her shoulders.

_ “Almost. I could use a bit of cuddling, though _ .” The brunette rolled her eyes playfully and chuckled, getting out of her own wet dress and putting on some sweats before moving to hold her girl.

Around 15 minutes had gone by when veronica spoke.

_ “How about we go to my room, under the covers, and watch a movie?”  _ Cher smiled and nodded.

“Sounds great.”

They were halfway through The Aristocats when Hermione came home.

_ “Mija? Are you home?” _

_ “In here, mom!”  _ Appearing on the doorframe, the woman made a surprised face when she registered Cheryl’s presence.

_ “Cheryl! What a good surprise!”  _ Cher smiled. _ “Aren’t you girls going to the Jubilee? To see Betty’s speech?”  _ Cheryl looked at Ronnie puzzled.

_ “What Jubilee?” _

_ “Mayor McCoy organized it, and asked Betty to make a speech and Archie to sing.”  _ She turned to her mother.  _ “And answering you, no, we’re not going.”  _ Cheryl turned to face her.

_ “You can go, have fun with your friends, Ronn.”  _ She finished giving her girlfriend a kiss on her temple, but Ronnie furrowed her brows.

_ “No way. I’m not leaving you, definitely not after today.”  _ She had forgotten her mother was in the room for a second, and regretted it immediately.

_ “What happened today?”  _ Veronica looked at Cheryl, both apologetic and asking if she should tell the story or not. __

_ “Go ahead.”  _ Came the permission accompanied by a nod. Veronica shifted uncomfortably, gathering her thoughts. 

_ “Cher… Cher went to the river today.”  _ The redhead looked away.  _ “She wanted to be with Jason.” _ Veronica spoke carefully, very slowly.  _ “So, she- she tried to kill herself, mamí.”  _ Hermione snapped her head to look at the girl, worry plastered all over. 

_ “Pequeña, ¿por qué? Why, honey? Your life is a treasure, your existence makes the world shine brighter!”  _ Cheryl looked down and felt tears come to her eyes.

_ “It really doesn’t feel like it is. All I do is bother people. I’m a thorn in everybody’s side at school, I’m a walking disappointment for my parents, and the school thinks I’m a loose cannon. The only person that seems to actually like me is Ronnie, and that is because of some ink in her skin.”  _ Hermione sighed.

_ “Girl, Ronnie doesn’t like you, she loves you! And Betty and Archie always talk fondly about you when they’re here, they’re your friends.”  _ The woman put a hand on Cheryl’s knee and gave a warm smile. Veronica added:

_ “And Jughead. That boy is all over you, Betty even gets jealous sometimes. He really cares about you, and learning about FP broke him.”  _ The redhead finally raised her head, looking at the two Lodge.  _ “I’m sorry we made you feel like you were alone. You may think you only had Jason, and for a time that might have been true, but now there’s a whole bunch of people on your corner.” _

Cheryl rested her head on the tiny girl’s shoulder and closed her eyes, breathing heavily. 

_ “Everything is so hard.”  _ She pressed her eyes closed, and a tear escaped. _ “I have to walk around pretending all is fine, when everything is crashing and burning around me.”  _ She was sobbing now, and Hermione hugged her from the other side. The Blossom took a deep breath before speaking.  _ “Look, right now. ‘Ronica should be having fun at the jubilee, and you shouldn’t have to worry about someone else’s kid.”  _ Mrs. Lodge got serious and grabbed Cheryl’s cheeks with both of her hands, forcing the girl to look at her.

_ “Never, you hear me? Never are you a bother. Your well being is of the most utter importance. Ronnie has free-will, if she didn’t want to be here with you, she wouldn’t be.”  _ The girl stared at her for a moment, before hugging her tightly. Then, Cher looked at the clock on her phone.

_ “I-I should g-go.”  _ She didn’t move, instead went back to staring at the bed, breathing rapidly, and then closing her eyes painfully. 

Hermione looked at her daughter.  _ “Ronnie, go get some pajamas for her.”  _ The woman turned to Cheryl as Veronica got up, and placed her hand on her shoulder.  _ “You’re staying here tonight, we’re not letting you go back to  that haunted house.”  _

Cher was so glad all she could do was wrap the woman in a hug again. Hermione tightened it, as if trying to put all the broken pieces in their right place. Veronica came back and chuckled at the scene. Her mother didn’t open her eyes, but caught up with her daughter.

_ “She’s my daughter now.”  _ Veronica laughed harder, and Cheryl let out a muffled mixture of a laugh and a sob. Hermione considering her like a daughter hit hard. How could she be receiving more love from an almost stranger than from her own mother? 

_ “That means more to me than you’ll ever know.”  _ They hugged again.

_ “Now, I think a bubble bath would be nice, don’t you think, darling?”  _ The woman raised an eyebrow towards Cheryl, who was beaming, even if her face was swollen from all the crying.

The redhead had been on the tub for about 10 minutes, when her thoughts all got together in a snowball. She burst into heavy tears, and a minute later Ronnie came hurriedly through the door.

_ “Did something happen?!”  _ She was alarmed, and knelt by her girlfriend’s side, as the girl was rubbing her eyes hard.

_ “Ugh!”  _ She growled.  _ “I’m so tired of crying! It’s all I do!”  _ She sounded so angry at herself.

_ “It’s okay, baby. Cry as much as you want,-” _

_ “I don’t wanna cry!”  _ Veronica was taken aback, and saw her girl sigh.  _ “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you. I’m mad at me, I’m so weak I can’t even stop crying!” _

_ “You’re not weak. You lost your twin brother at the hands of your father, who ended up killing himself. You’ve endured a lifetime of abuse from the people supposed to protect you, and you’ve just gone through the most heartbreaking and stressful experience ever. It’s completely normal to cry. I think you held your tears for so long that now they are all surfacing.”  _ She got a series of sighs and deep breaths as an answer.

_ “I just want to be held.”  _ It was soft, and Veronica’s heart melted and broke at the same time.

_ “That can easily be arranged. When you’re finished, I’ll be at my room.” _

Cher took another 15 minutes or so to appear in Ronnie’s baggy navy blue pajamas. The latina thought she never loved the girl more.

_ “We need to get you a red version of those. You look fantastic in them.” _

_ “I look like a homeless person.”  _ She chuckled dryly at herself. 

Veronica got up from the bed and got nervous, fidgeting with her hands.

_ “Can- can I carry you?”  _ Cheryl furrowed her brows in confusion.

_ “What do you mean?”  _  Ronn shifted her weight.

_ “When I got you from the river I carried you.” _

_ “How? You’re, like, a hobbit.”  _ The redhead deadpanned.

_ “Shut up, you’re the one who’s a giraffe!”  _ Huffing, she continued. _ “Anyways, it was good, feeling like I could carry the world, because you are my world, Cherry Bomb. It was like I was your saviour.”  _ She was looking at her feet now, a bit embarrassed. Cheryl smiled softly.

_ “You were, literally. And if it makes you feel good, than yes, you can carry me, no matter how weird that is.”  _ She chuckled at her girlfriend.

_ “It felt like you completely trusted me to  take care of you.”  _

_ “It’s because I do. If it had been anyone else, I would’ve fought to keep myself awake, but with you, I knew I could let go, ‘cause you’d be there to protect me.”  _ Veronica smiled widely, and motioned for the girl to sit on the bed.

Carefully placing her arms, she lifted her lover, who giggled at that. Veronica entered the living room, and her mother, who was leaving the kitchen, gasped and laughed.

_ “Mija, what are you doing with my daughter? You’re too young to be married!”  _ She remarked, referring to Ronnie carrying Cheryl bridal style. 

_ “I wanted to carry her!”  _ Veronica cheered like a little kid.

_ “Put her down now. Dinner's ready.” _

Hermione, not being much of a cook, ordered pizza. They chatted while eating, and when they were done, the older Lodge inquired.

_ “So, what are you girls going to do now?”  _ Her daughter had a mischievous grin on her face, and grabbed her mom and girlfriend’s hand, leading them to the big sofa, which was almost a bed.

_ “We,”  _ she motioned to them both,  _ “are going to hold and cuddle Cher.”  _ Plopping down on the couch, she grabbed Cheryl by her waist, making the girl fall on her lap with a yelp. Hermione laid on the redhead’s other side, and in no time she was being clutched from all sides. 

 She was stiff at first, but soon relaxed into de touch. Veronica was nuzzled in the crook of her neck, and Hermione had her arm around the girl’s waist. Some moments passed, and a groggy Veronica moved herself so it was her girlfriend who was being spooned. 

When they woke up, the first thing done was look at the clock.

_ “Oh, it’s already 11.”  _ Ronnie planted a kiss on Cher’s forehead.  _ “We should go to bed, sleep there.” _ The redhead hummed positively.

_ “I don’t know where the guest room is. Or am I staying in the couch? It’s pretty comfy.”  _ It was an innocent question, but it carried all the girl’s insecurities. Hermione shook her head and let a chuckle escape at Cheryl, seeing that she still thought she was a bother. Veronica wanted to face-slap herself and roll her eyes at her girlfriend. 

_ “Are you serious, Cheryl? You’re sleeping with me, in my bed.”  _

_ “Oh.” _

They said their goodnights and went to their respective rooms.

_ “Here, I have a spare toothbrush.” _

When they finished getting ready and were under the covers, Cheryl sat straight, and looked at Ronnie with a smile.

_ “What?”  _ Ronn was confused.

_ “Get comfortable.” _

_ “It’s  _ **_my_ ** _ bed…”  _ The redhead rolled her eyes.

_ “I didn't mean it like that. Get in your comfy sleeping position.”  _ Veronica furrowed her brows and very slowly obliged.

_ “Why…?”  _ Cheryl huffed.

_ “Goddammit, just do it!” _

_ “Okay, okay. Bossy.”  _ Another eyeroll.  _ “Here, done.”  _ With that, Cheryl gave a goofy smile and hugged the brunettes middle, resting her head on her chest, nuzzling herself on her girlfriend, who chuckled.  _ “This is what you wanted? You could’ve just said you wanted to use me as your pillow, silly.”  _ The girl simply shrugged, and they went to sleep.

Gradually, Veronica felt herself be squeezed rather harshly, and when her brain became functioning, she realized it was Cher, who had a frightened expression and moved hastily.

The latina escaped the girl’s grip and started shaking her shoulders, as well as calling her name, to wake her up.

The redhead did so with a loud gasp, sitting on the bed and trembling. Veronica didn’t know if she could touch the girl or if that would make things worse, so she just made herself present through her voice.

_ “I’m here, Cherry. It’s me, ‘Ronica!”  _ Cher was breathing rapidly, and turned around to see the familiar face, who was reaching for her with an anguished expression. To ease her lover’s mind, she leaned into the extended hand, and Veronica released a breath she was holding.

That gave her permission to touch the girl, and she wrapped her arms around her shoulders. 

_ “It’s okay, everything’s alright. Wanna talk about it?” She received the answer in the form of a small nod. _

_ “It was a nightmare. I had succeeded in my… adventure of this afternoon. But instead of being with Jason, happily as I had imagined, I saw my father.”  _ A tear rolled down her cheek.  _ “He looked exactly how he was: cold, emotionless, uncaring. Except this time I was trapped with him, and only him, forever. It was my punishment for taking the same route as him.”  _ She buried her head on Veronica’s chest, hiding. The brunette whispered soothing words, and after a while Cher asked to go back to sleep. They did so, without any disturbances until the morning.

When Veronica finally looked at her phone, she saw several calls from her friends. Calling Betty back, she was met by hushed speaking.

_ “Veronica, you have to come to the hospital, Archie’s dad has been shot.”  _ The brunette was in shock.

“O-of course, I’m on my way.”

She was looking through her closet hastily, when a groggy voice came from her bed.

_ “What’s going on, ‘Ronica? What’s the rush?”  _  She stopped dead in her tracks. The shock made her mind go blank, forgetting for a moment of her girlfriend. The girl needed her badly at that moment, but so did Archie.

_ “Uhh, b-babe.”  _ She breathed deeply.  _ “Archie’s dad, he, uhm, he was shot last night. He’s in the hospital.”  _

_ “Oh my God! Is he okay?”  _

_ “I don’t know, the gang’s all there.”  _ Cheryl catched up on what she was implying.

_ “Go, babe. He’s important to you, you should be there for Archie.”  _ She smiled softly, but Veronica was torn.

_ “What about you? I don’t want to leave you. Want to come with?”  _ You could see she was worried sick, but Cher continued to smile, and put a reassuring hand on the girl’s shoulder.

_ “I’m gonna be okay, ma petite. I can’t hide here forever.” _

_ “Where are you going? I was gonna tell you to make yourself comfortable and that I’d be back soon.”  _ The latina had a puzzled face, and Cheryl pressed her lips together and looked at the ground, sighing.

_ “I’m going to Thornhill.”  _ Ronnie was outraged by those words.

_ “No, no way! You’re not going back to that awful place! You’re staying here, where you’re loved and cherished.”  _ Cheryl stepped closer and brushed a strand of black hair back.

_ “I understand your worry, but I’m fine. And even if I do end up staying with you-” _

_ “You  _ **_are_ ** _ staying with me.”  _ The redhead eyerolled.

_ “Even if I’m staying with you, I do need to get some clothes, you don’t have nearly enough red on your closet.”  _ She chuckled, and the sentence made Ronnie snap and notice they were both still in  her pajamas. 

_ “Fine. But now I need to change. Do you want to borrow something or do you want to stay in those?”  _

_ “As much as I love wearing your pajamas, some real clothing would be good.”  _ Ronn started to move through her hangers.

_ “Red, red, red… Ugh, the only red I have is this blouse.”  _ She showed the piece with a huff.

_ “It’s fine. But just so you know, I wouldn’t die if I wasn’t wearing red, I do have it on my head after all.”  _ She smiled mockingly.  _ “Also, if I had my red lipstick with me, that is.”  _ They both chuckled.

_ “Okay, but wear it nonetheless.”  _ Cher started stripping.  _ “I’m so glad you’re into skirts, ‘cause it’d never have something as long as your legs.”  _ The redhead scoffed.

_ “They are not that long.” _

_ “Baby, yes they are. They are gorgeously long.”  _ She finished with a goofy smile, which made the taller girl blush and run a finger on the length of Veronica’s left leg.

_ “Your tiny ones are really nice, too.”  _ A devilish smile played on her lips. That made Ronnie take a step back and extend her arm, a finger pointing at her girlfriend playfully.

_ “Cher, no, I have to go see Archie!” _

_ “You’re no fun.” _

_ “C’mon, brush your teeth, we’re leaving in five.”  _ Cheryl answered from the bathroom, picking something up behind the innocent words.

_ “You’re dropping me off at Thornhill, don’t even! I’ll be fine, Ronnie.”  _ Veronica rolled her eyes and whispered to herself.

_ “It was worth the try.” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked it! I finally got around to writing the point where Veronica, Cheryl and Toni meet :D Which means it's gonna take a while for you to read it >_< Have patience with me

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you guys liked this start, maybe got you excited for the rest :)


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